Sun Care in Uzbekistan

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Sun care value sales are minimal, but there is a growing awareness of the health benefits of sun protection in 2019

Sun care remained tiny in value terms in Uzbekistan in 2019, as the vast majority of consumers are accustomed to unprotected exposure to the sun’s rays and do not consider sun care necessary. Overall growth was driven by sun protection, by far the dominant product area, as awareness continued to rise among consumers of the fact that unprotected sun exposure can cause skin cancer.

Garnier Ambre Solaire is the hottest ticket in town, while local favourite pips Nivea Sun to second place in 2019

Although overall sales of sun care in Uzbekistan remained low, the competitive landscape remained more delicately poised than in other categories. Global stalwart L’Oréal Groupe’s Garnier Ambre Solaire brand retained the highest value sales for 2019, benefitting from L’Oréal’s reputation in the medium price segment, while being effectively represented in Uzbekistan by Gloriya Distribution.

Niche positioning offers opportunities for smaller players in 2019

Sun care’s contradiction lay in that it was the fastest growing beauty and personal care category in 2019, outperforming fragrances, skin care and the other main revenue streams in terms of current value sales growth. Despite this, sun care value sales remained very low, with many retailers seeing little need to stock these products.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

Value sales of sun care are now expected to decline by 14% in 2020 in 2019 constant value terms in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to an expected 2% rise forecast for 2020 during research conducted at the end of 2019 before the spread of COVID-19.

Affected products within sun care

Sun protection will remain the main driver in 2020 and beyond, while self-tanning seems destined to stagnate in a country that has plenty of natural sunshine and outdoor living. The overall sun care category suffers from very low value sales overall, with purchasing power and general awareness remaining low in Uzbekistan, thus suggesting volume sales will not improve greatly over the forecast period, and perhaps even that value sales will fall for self-tanning products in value at constant 2019 prices.

Recovery and opportunities

Sun care may benefit from continued increasing interest in Westernised lifestyles once the country recovers from the impact of COVID-19, with brands intrigued by the potential to improve existing value sales from such historic lows. The openness of the competitive landscape means that brands could capitalise on the country’s economic development and rising employment levels, if the country is able to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

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