How Big is the Perfume Industry?

Have you ever wondered how big is the perfume industry? For a starter let me give you a number of new perfumes that were supposed to appear in 2011 – 800. Yes you are reading it just right – 800! Therefore you shouldn't be surprised by the next number I will give you in a second -the global market for fragrances is about to set to almost double from $17bn in 2010 to touch $33.5bn by 2015. Historically the perfumes market has not really been the most dynamic one- but nowadays it became one of the fastest growing markets .

Europe is a place that is associated with the largest worldwide market for fragrances and perfumes, and Europeans are known to be the finest connoisseurs of scents. Saying so, it can be easily assumed the European companies are also the one dominating the global market and produce majority of the world’s desirable brands. The international market for fragrances and perfumes is highly polarized and fragmented, given the extreme faddish fashion trends dictating the market’s fortunes. Key market participants include Avon Products, Inc, Bulgari S.p.A, Chanel SA, Coty, Inc, Elizabeth Arden, Inc, Estee Lauder, Inc, Gucci Group NV, Gianni Versace S.p.A, Liz Claiborne, Inc, L’oreal SA, LVMH Group, Procter & Gamble, Puig Beauty & Fashion Group S.L, Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation and Revlon, Inc.

Now you might want to ask yourself a question, are Europeans spending the same amount of money now as they were before the financial crisis? Customers were spending less money on the perfumes than before the crisis. Recession in both continents hit the perfume business as well as the other industries. But interestingly enough, emerging markets such as Asia –Pacific, Latin America or Eastern Europe became the major motor of growth for the global fragrance market.

And those markets will become so called trendsetters  in the perfume industry in the nearest future. The tastes of London, Paris and New York will soon count for little.

What we smell like in the future is more likely to be dictated by the customers of Shanghai, Mumbai and Sao Paulo. BBC ‘sepisode of the Perfume Series, The Smell of the Future, looks into the future of the global perfume industry. The exploding new fragrance markets Brazil and Asia (China, India, Arabic countries) dictate the tempo now and the industry giants, such as Avon, are heavily investing into shifting their production / marketing to these markets' tastes and needs. The emerging regions are becoming increasingly important not only because of the trends that they are dictating to the world but also because they account for almost one-third of global sales, nearly doubling in value from 2002–2007 to an estimated $9.3 billion.

Probably the most interesting case among the countries we have just mentioned above is Gulf region. Per capita consumption of perfumes in the Middle East, estimated at $380 annually, is among the highest in the world, according to a report by the Fragrance Foundation Arabia (FFA).

References:
a)http://www.ehow.com
b)http://www.articles.sun-sentinel.com