NPD BeautyTrends France Helps Manufacturer Track Promotions and Boost Market Share

by Martine Ringwald, European director, Beauty

In the French prestige beauty market, the skincare category’s sales results have been flat in the past year. One significant challenge among skincare brands vying for market share is determining how to compete with new launches. Repeatedly, manufacturers and retailers have watched new launches cannibalize the existing product range, making an intensely competitive market segment even tougher.

In one recent instance, NPD BeautyTrends France point-of-sale (POS) information allowed a skincare manufacturer to track its market share improvement in the facial moisturizers category. This client needed fast, reliable information to understand brand growth and determine how best to improve its position in the market. NPD data showed the company had increased its sales by 25% in the third quarter of 2004, compared to the same period in 2003, resulting in market share growth from 5.2% to 6.2% over the time period. This improvement was led by the relaunch of a particular product, which had a positive impact on sales. Later, one week of point-of-sale promotion generated a 70% increase in sales of the brand, bumping market share up from 6.2% to 8.7%. Based on the success of that effort – illustrated in the NPD information – the company planned another promotion. The result? The brand pushed its market share up again, not as dramatically this time, but still significantly given the facial moisturizer category’s tight competition.

Weekly Share (€)

Input from NPD BeautyTrends France – the only market tracking service with ongoing weekly tracking – gave this client the data it needed to plan effective promotions and make fact-based business decisions. Not for skincare manufacturers and retailers alone, NPD BeautyTrends France provides a complete view of the market, tracking sales and trends of prestige fragrances and makeup, as well. And NPD recently began monitoring anti-aging products and providing shade-level detail for prestige makeup categories – adding to its already unmatched services for the beauty industry in France.

NPD BeautyTrends France, a point-of-sale tracking service, can help the French prestige skincare manufacturers and retailers benchmark their performance by providing comprehensive market information and insights. By monitoring trends and providing a clear view of the market on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis, NPD BeautyTrends uncovers opportunities for growth, measures the performance of new entries to the market and assists companies in evaluating the effectiveness of promotions.

To find out what NPD BeautyTrends France information and insights can do for your business, contact Martine Ringwald in NPD’s Paris office by phone at +33 (0) 1 55 78 25 28 or e-mail martine_ringwald@npd.com.