Low income makes hygiene and beauty industry profit
O Estado de S. Paulo
The low income segment injected vigor in the plans of the personal hygiene product manufacturers. It was the first time this segment pulled the sales of the sector, which also includes cosmetics, traditional leaders in commerce, and perfumery. According to preliminary calculations of the Brazilian Toiletry, Perfumery and Cosmetics Association (Abbihpec), the sales of the industry in the first half increased 18%, to a great extent due to the higher and higher search for soaps, shampoos, deodorants and hygienic absorbents. The conclusion, according to the president of the entity, João Carlos Basílio da Silva, is that the low income, with a cash surplus, has invested more in these products. According to him, it was not only increased the frequency of use that increased, they started buying the more expensive marks.
It is a very good moment for the industry. In the evaluation of the president of the Brazilian subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, Tarek Farahat, the increase of consumption in the C class is due, besides the growth in income, to the increase, in the last years, of the investments of the industry in technology. According to Moacir Sanini, managing director of the hygiene and beauty division of the Bertin group, owner of brands like OX, Neutrox, Francis and Hydratta, the growth of the segment is "astonishing". In order to take advantage of the good phase, the company has invested on research all over the Country so as to adapt the products to these new consumers.
Hypermarcas, owner of brands like Monange, Risqué and Bozzano, already has strong presence in the low income segment and has benefited from the evolution of this social class to increase sales. Claudio Bergamo, president of the company, said that he was holding the prices to increase the businesses. "The poor will only stop buying these products if that jeopardizes their future income too much or if they lose their job. As long as their income remains connected to the minimum wage, with real gain, the sales will continue rising."