Fragrances in Norway

PROSPECTS

Niche fragrances gaining in popularity

In 2017, a leading fragrances retailer, Fredrik & Louisa, made notable efforts in focusing on premium niche fragrances, including creating bespoke fragrance and scent rooms. This trend continued to intensify in 2018 with many retailers focusing on acquiring brands with exclusive distribution.

New product launches result in strong growth of women’s fragrances

Despite being the more mature subcategory, women’s fragrances registered stronger value growth towards the end of the review period than men’s fragrances. New launches and larger fragrance campaigns are cited as the main reasons for the strong value growth in both women’s and men’s fragrances, albeit the launches in the former attracted somewhat more attention.

Retailers hope to educate consumers in creating fragrance wardrobes

Building on the rising demand for niche fragrances, retailers, such as Fredrik & Louisa, have stated an intent to get Norwegian consumers to follow in the footsteps of consumers in other countries, such as France, when it comes to building up a fragrance wardrobe. Norwegians, and especially men, tend to be conservative in terms of the number of fragrances at their disposal and often use the same fragrances for different occasions.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Solis joins EMH in Scandinavian Cosmetics Group further consolidating the competitive landscape

The Norwegian beauty and personal care distributor, Engelschiøn Marwell Hauge (EMH), has led value sales of fragrances for more than a decade and continued to consolidate its position in 2018. During the year, the brand management company that acquired EMH in 2016, acquired another Norwegian distributor, Solis, resulting in its brands being transferred to EMH.

L’Oréal Norge maintains position as second largest player

L’Oréal Norge has ranked behind EMH throughout the review period and despite rising demand for more niche fragrances has managed to maintain its value share throughout the review period. The company has several well-known brands, such as Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Lancôme and Ralph Lauren.

Premium brands continue to notably outperform mass brands

While celebrity fragrances, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Ariana Grande, are introduced frequently and tend to register a strong performance during their first year on the market, sales often waver thereafter and with Norwegian consumers’ rising preference for high-quality alternatives, the majority of premium brands continued to outperform mass and celebrity brands in 2018. Mass brands sold through retailers, such as The Body Shop, H&M Hennes & Mauritz and Kicks, have performed well and registered stable development compared to celebrity brands.

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