Sun care in Western Europe – an overview

However, consumers are increasingly aware and educated about the dangers of sunbathing. Combined with increasingly unpredictable summer weather across European countries and a difficult economic climate, this growing awareness restricted growth in sun care sales. With these factors impacting sales, Euromonitor International looks at the performance of sun care in Western Europe.

A resilient industry

Overall, beauty and personal care sales in Western Europe were estimated to reach around e73,948 million in 2010. This represents a 2% increase over 2009 sales, highlighting the fact that beauty and personal care proved fairly resistant to the negative influence of the economic downturn. While 2008 and 2009 were difficult years for most industries, beauty and personal care experienced only a slowdown in sales. While still cautious, consumer expenditure grew slightly in 2010 as fears over the economic climate began to abate. This has aided sun care sales as consumers started travelling more. In Western Europe, the major product categories in beauty and personal care are skin care, fragrances and colour cosmetics. Sun care accounts for a smaller share of value sales, reaching e2,193 million in 2010. Sun care includes sun protection, self tanning products and after sun. In 2010, the leading countries in terms of total value sales of sun care were Spain and Italy, while Austria and Belgium rank lowest. In per capita terms, however, spend per head is highest among Spanish and Swiss consumers spending an impressive e9 on sun care, against the Germans whose spending only reaches e1.8. The generally hot weather and widespread tourism are key factors behind Spain and Italy having such strong sales of sun care. Within sun care, sun protection accounts for the largest part of sales, corresponding to an average of 80% in most Western European countries. In self tanning products, however, the UK leads with sales estimated at e58 million in 2010, which represents 12% of total sun care sales in that country. A lack of sun and the importance that is still attached to a tanned skin by many UK consumers are the main reasons for this performance. Within sun care, in 2010, Western European countries performed quite differently. Turkey ranked at the top in growth terms with an impressive 21% current value growth. This can in part be attributed to an increase in tourism, strong advertising and new product launches. Germany, Italy and Greece on the other hand experienced declining sales. This occurred as consumers in these countries increasingly sought value-for-money products, thus impacting the value performance of sun care. Sun care has a high share of premium products in comparison to most other beauty and personal care products, with the exception of fragrances and colour cosmetics. Indeed, premium products’ share of sun care sales reaches 28% of all sales in BPC, closely followed by colour cosmetics. France is the most interesting case with 48% being premium and in Italy it reaches 42%. A factor contributing to this is consumer awareness of the dangers of sun exposure and placing a strong emphasis on brand quality. Furthermore, sun care is well-established in these countries, with leading brands having long played a major role. Premium products are thus considered to be affordable luxuries. While premium products are gaining share in some countries, at the other end of the spectrum there is also a trend towards price promotion and discounting. There has been a stronger rise in private label sales and a shift from premium to mass products was noted in 2010, particularly in Spain, Portugal and Greece. In Germany, private label also continued to maintain its strong share and saw a further increase, reaching 28% in value terms in 2010. Nevertheless, in overall sun care in Western Europe, private label accounts for a mere 8% share in value terms.

Sun travelling

Within sun care, sun protection accounts for the highest share of overall sales. Consumers are increasingly aware of the damage caused by long-term sun exposure and are thus willing to spend more on sun protection. Trade press and consumer education campaigns played a major role in raising awareness of the need for sun protection, as well as manufacturers’ activity. This awareness however varies across the countries of Western Europe. Consumers from countries that traditionally have hotter climates are generally more careful in terms of ensuring they regularly use sun protection and in their choice of brand. These consumers typically opt for brands that are deemed to offer the best protection. For instance, in Turkey many consumers perceive sun protection to be a necessity. A recent development within sun care that impacted the countries of Western Europe in a different way was the introduction of the restrictions on carrying liquids on aircraft. This resulted in a growing number of consumers deciding to buy sun care at their destination. Furthermore, airlines are increasingly charging for extra luggage weight. This is also limiting consumers’ ability to carry a large number of beauty and personal care products, further encouraging purchases on arrival. However, economic uncertainty remains and indeed worsened in 2011. Consequently, travel and tourism continues to be affected by consumers’ economic fears and travel rates thus continued to fall in 2010. In the UK, for example, outbound tourism rates, in volume, fell to a negative 1% in 2010 with more Britons holidaying at home rather than at traditionally favoured destinations such as Spain and Egypt. There was some uplift to certain destinations, with an increase of leisure travel to Greece, for example. However, this was not significant enough to prevent an overall decline in sun care sales in the country.

Convenience and higher SPF

Consumers in Western Europe became increasingly educated about sun care during the review period, with sun protection widely becoming a part of everyday routine. Consequently, manufacturers actively searched for more convenient formats. Gone are the days of thick and hard-to-spread cream. New formats and products with added benefits have been important in driving growth in value sales of sun protection. In France, sprays for example became increasingly popular at the expense of gel and cream, with sprays being considered more userfriendly and easier to apply. This trend was also evident in Italy. New product launches included Coppertone, which tapped into the convenience of a new format by offering a foam version that is also oil free. Many products were meanwhile launched in spray format, including brands such as Vichy and Nivea, with these generally claiming new qualities that enhance their ease of use. The sun care industry is well aware of the opportunities for growth and the need for greater segmentation. There is an ageing population in Western Europe, which is expected to account for around 250 million people over the age of 42 by 2020, with many being retired. Western Europe is expected to have over 10 million more people aged over 65 in 2020 than there are children under the age of 15. Due to this ageing population, consumers are expected to increasingly seek out a higher SPF despite the importance attached to a good-looking tan. This trend was observed in most countries during the review period, with Germany notably shifting from SPF6 to SPF20. In the UK, stores meanwhile rarely offer sun protection below SPF10, with a growing amount of shelf space being allocated to SPF15, SPF20, SPF30 and SPF50. In Turkey, demand for higher-SPF products also increased over the review period. The value share of SPF25-60 products was only 15% in 2005 but increased to nearly 60% in 2010. Meanwhile, the share of SPF2-15 products dropped from 50% to 16% over the same period. Recent launches such as Coppertone Sport SPF100, which claims not to run into the eyes, and affordable mass high-SPF brands encouraged this trend. There was a general consumer shift towards natural beauty and personal care and products that provide added functionality during the review period. Consequently, other added benefits were also offered through manufacturers’ innovation in sun care, with these likely to be important for driving future sales growth. Added-value ingredients including plantbased extracts such as milkweed should enable manufacturers to add value to these products. Anti-ageing products also saw innovation, with L’Oréal Expertise, for example, launching Olio Solare anti-ageing sun protection in Italy. Pharmacy brand, La Roche-Posay, meanwhile continued to concentrate on facial sun protection with a new line including the pioneering Anthelios XL AC SPF30 Extreme Fluid. This offers facial sun protection for acne-prone skin. The same range also introduced Anthelios Cell-Ox Shield in May 2011 with senna alata, an ingredient that offers natural protection against UVB radiation. The increasing number of consumers who suffer from allergies is also likely to be targeted by manufacturers as they seek to drive added value sales. Natural ingredients and minerals are expected to be among the drivers for growth in the near future, as an increasing number of consumers search for natural and non-chemical sun protection.

The future

Western Europe is expected to see an ageing population during the forecast period, with consumers thus becoming more concerned with their health and looks. As a result, consumers are expected to become more willing to spend money on products with healthy ingredients and added benefits, with this trend set to support good future growth for sun care. It is thus expected that sun care will post 2% constant value CAGR until 2016. The main challenge, with this also being the main area of opportunity for manufacturers, will be to address competition from skin care. The border between skin care and sun protection is likely to become increasingly blurred as these products are two sides of the same coin. Anti-ageing and anti-allergy products are expected to prove highly successful, as will new and more convenient formats. With a significant margin to increase sales, the challenge will be for manufacturers to convince consumers of the need for the more regular use of sun care.