Despite the slowdown in global demand afflicting other industries, the highly profitable beauty and cosmetics industry is set to get even bigger in the Kingdom, with some industry experts expecting beauty sales to increase by at least 25 percent this year. According to a recent survey in the Middle East, almost 60 percent of the GCC population is under 25, ensuring a high growth rate in the beauty market. The beauty products and services market is worth more than SR7.3 billion in the Kingdom. Even though there is a slowdown in business around the world, sales of beauty and cosmetic products are increasing day by day in the Kingdom. Most shopping malls in the Eastern Province have at least 10 to 15 cosmetics and toiletries shops selling well-known brands imported from Germany, Italy and France. “We feel confident that the cosmetics and toiletries industry will continue to experience growth in 2009. It is widely believed that people tend not to compromise with their image or grooming, and that they also require these cosmetic items as they have become a necessity in the modern age,” said a sales executive at Deerah Cosmetics, a leading retail trader of cosmetics in the province. Women are likely to continue using creams, lotions, and beauty supplements in an attempt to look younger and more beautiful which will ensure the profitability of the cosmetics market.
