Polishes in Portugal

2020 IMPACT

COVID-19 accelerates downward trend in polishes

Polishes did not benefit from COVID-19 and indeed was the worst performer among home care products, registering both volume and current value decline in 2020. However, COVID-19 only accelerated the decline; polishes had been suffering from falling volume and value sales over the review period.

F Lima leads polishes thanks to a presence in three of the four categories

Holding wide portfolios of brands in different product area results in a competitive advantage when negotiating with retailers. This is the case with F Lima, which represents the Novycera brand in furniture and floor polish, and also in shoe polish, Splendor.

Furniture polish remains the biggest category but sees a strong decline

Among polishes, furniture polish remained the largest in value terms in 2020. However, as with other polishes, it is on a downward decline.

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Declining volume sales across all polishes

Consumers will continue to prioritise disinfection type cleaning products over the forecast period and polishes will continue its downward decline. Shoe polish in particular is expected to be hardest hit, as people increasingly wear more casual footwear and also because it is predicted that many people will continue to work from home, even when COVID-19 is brought under control.

Floor polish negatively affected by new flooring types

Modern, easy-to-clean flooring will continue to hamper the growth of floor polish. New constructions and refurbishments use laminated and floating floors instead of wood or parquet, and these types of flooring do not require the use of a specific polish for their care.

Little chance of new entrants, and private label share growth expected to be limited

The low penetration and sales of polishes means new brands are not attracted to enter the product area. In addition, the leading brands are already well-established due to their high awareness, which would hamper the growth of any new entrants.