Consumers delaying cosmetics purchases

A drop in consumers' purchas¬ing power is another important factor that will force small cos¬metic brands out of the market. Global brands must adopt more attractive marketing strategies to maintain sales.

The Bt8billion cosmetics industry expected to grow only 5 per cent this year.

Nunthawan Laosinchai, brand general manager for Clinique, yes¬terday said the slower growth was due to high inflation and rising oil prices prompting consumers to reduce their purchases of luxury goods and focus more on essen¬tials.

As a result, Clinique's clients have reduced their cosmetics spending 1015 per cent per bill. Normally, customer purchases average between Bt3,400 and Bt3,500 per bill.

"Consumers delaying cosmet¬ics purchases has directly affected company sales. It will cause the company to record its lowest growth of 5 per cent this year," Nunthawan said, adding that the company reported sale growth of 7.2 per cent in its previous fiscal year ending June 30.

She predicts some small cos¬metics distributors and manufac¬turers that entered the market over the past decade will disappear altogether.

To survive, her company has adjusted its marketing strategy to focus more on product variety. The strategy is intended to not only maintain its customer base, but also attract new clients, particu¬larly new graduates and first job¬bers.

"We hope the new marketing plan will boost our customer numbers 15 per cent per year," she said.

The company also launched its "New Clinique Experience" cam¬paign yesterday by renovating its counter sales and providing more services, such as beauty consulta¬tions.

In the next three years, it plans to expand this new counter con¬cept to 10 branches managing 43 counters nationwide.