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Cosmetics brands beat all odds

Sayeda Akter
Sanjida Rahman, a 29-year-old lawyer, loves using Internationally renowned cosmetics, as these brands arc reliable and available in the local market.
"1 feel comfortable using international brands, as I don't have to worry about the quality and can completely rely on them," she said. "The prices of these products are quite reasonable as well."
"At the same time, TV advertisements and programmes on satellite channels are constantly making us aware of our looks and personal care," she added.
Rahman is not alone. Nowadays, women are living in an age of "cosmopolitan lifestyles" and are increasingly interested in skin and hair care products, religiously following beauty routines. Expensive cosmetics brands are cashing in on this craze.
As a result, the sales of imported branded luxury cosmetics products have increased even at a time when the global recession has started to affect the local economy.
Fahima Choudhury, managing partner of Ogilvy and Mather, a local partner of a high-profile international ad agency that marketed international personal care goods, said the market for international brands started growing in the late 1980s.
"The market for branded cosmetics blossomed after the open market economy developed and people began to have a little cash to spare. Women chose to pamper themselves by spending on these luxuries," she said.
"The cosmetics trade expanded when local companies started importing foreign cosmetics and personal care products, targeting people form all classes," she said.
“Local importers took the next step and started campaigning via advertising agencies, to create awareness about items such as shampoos, creams and toothpastes. Gradually, demand for those products was created among people from the middle
and upper-middle income groups," added Choudhury. "Satellite channels also had a major part to play in the spread of awareness about one's looks."
She said the demand for such cosmetic and personal care products is now huge and it is quite common for women to prefer branded items.
Currently, the market size for cosmetics and toiletries stands at around Tk 3,000 crore per year, of which imported branded items account forTk 1,800 crore.
According to industry insiders, the market for branded items are divided into two segments: colour cosmetics, that includes lipstick, nail polish, eye and cheek shades and personal care products, that includes skin and hair care products, like shampoo, conditioner, lotions, creams.
Nearly all renowned colour
cosmetics brands, including L'Oreal, Revlon, Estee Lauder, Max Factor, Avon, Maybelline, M-A-C Cosmetics, Garnier, Elizabeth Arden, Lalique, bareMinerals, BeBeautiful, Biord, Biotherm, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Clinique, CoverGirl, Crabtree and Evelyn, Dior, Essie, Frederic Fekkai, Fusion Beauty, Giorgio Armani, Guerlain, Nivea, Lakme, and Emami are imported into Bangladesh.
Most products have been imported from the US, Germany, France, Middle East, China, Thailand and India. The reasonably priced products are most popular in the local market.
Munirul Ahsan, general manager of T-Mart Group, the sole agent and distributor of US cosmetics companies including Jordana and Nior, said the imported products are most popu-
lar among the middle-income groups of people.
The price of a Jordana branded lipstick ranges from Tk 110 to Tk 130, while a bottle of nail polish costsTk 140 in the local market.
"As we provide good quality products at prices that are within means, out products are more preferred than the costlier items,' he said.
Simultaneously, sales of L'Oreal, Revlon, M-A-C Cosmetics, Maybelline, Garnier, Max Factor, Elizabeth Arden have also risen.
Mahbubur Rahman, an importer and the general manager of Rahad Enterprise, said the demand for globally renowned brands like L'Oreal, Revlon, M-A-C Cosmetics, Maybelline, Garnier has risen in the past five years. His company has been importing cosmetics since 1998.
"People now can differentiate between high quality and low quality products, mainly because of an awareness created by the satellite channels. Customers trust branded products and they do not even compromise of price in that regard. Women will buy high quality products, even if ft means spending an extra buck or two," he said.
He said the prices of such high quality brands are almost double than the prices of Jordana or other similar brands.
Meanwhile, globally renowned color cosmetics brands such as L'Oreal, Revlon, Estee Lauder and Elizabeth Arden are planning to reduce prices and introduce low cost products in the market, according to a Reuters report.
The report said these companies would do so to battle the financial crisis and to capture low income but promising markets like Bangladesh.
In February, L'Oreal of France, the world's biggest cosmetics group, said that it would launch a low-price range of products to help beat the financial crisis this year.
However, personal care products, including skin and hair care, are increasingly becoming essentials for people belonging to all classes in society.
Kazi Ziaul Hasan, general manager of MF Consumer Ltd, the sole agent and distributor of Johnson and Johnson products, said the sales of their products are increasing day by day.
"Personal care products, such as body care, shampoo and perfumes are essential products. For this reason, sales of their products would not decrease even if the prices go up," he said.
However, the sector is currently facing several problems.
Mahbubur Rahman said they often face hassles in imports and the import duty is also very high, which stands at 25 percent
He suggested that the government should reduce import dunes to safe guard local entrepreneurs.
sayeda@thedanystar.net