BW Confidential - Issue #17 - March/April 2014 - (Page 72)

Taking stock Import restrictions and regulations mean retailers are having a hard time stocking product and are shelving expansion plans by Alex Wynne A rgentina's prestige beauty retail market remains fragmented and dominated by small, regional perfumery chains, with no true market leader. According to sources, independents and small chains represent around 80% of prestige distribution. Most of the distribution is still concentrated in the Greater Buenos Aires region, while choices are more limited in the provinces. Nevertheless, industry players praise the quality of the market's distribution. "[Argentina] is one of the countries in the region with the best structure in terms of beauty distribution," sums up The Estée Lauder Companies senior vice president for Latin America Daniel Rachmanis. He continues: "We have department stores with Falabella, great perfumeries like Rouge, Juleriaque, La Parfumerie, and great malls in which brands can open their own Argentina beauty retail sales by channel 2012* Channel % share Grocery retailers 47.9 Direct Selling 21.0 Beauty Specialist retailers 15.9 Chemists/Pharmacies 8.9 Parapharmacies/Drugstores 2.8 Department Stores 0.7 Source: Euromonitor International, *data for 2013 not yet available 72 credit: istock Market watch: Latin America Argentina: prestige retailing s Argentina's retail market is fragmented, but of good quality freestanding stores, like Galerias Pacifico, Paseo Alcorta and Alto Palermo, so the market, from a distribution point of view [is very interesting]." Expansion on hold Argentina's current macro-economic and political situation, (see article p. 70) means that expansion and development are not currently priorities for the country's retailers. Due to delays in product registration and problems with imports, they are more concerned about stock management and trying to figure out what products they will be able to offer from one month to the next. "Retailers are trying to play with what they have because of importation difficulties," says Segmenta Latam retail manager Daniel Morimoto. "They buy what they are offered, but they are finding it complicated to plan strategies because of not knowing if their order is really entering the country. It's hard to organize big events or plan big launches because they don't know what's going to happen. Each month it is, see what happens, see what we have in store and try to plan for next month. For an industry that depends on imports, retailers in Argentina are really worried; it's extremely difficult." This ties in with what other industry players are reporting. "Retailers would rather put their hands on as much stock as possible prior to any further price increases, and also because, the same as for consumers, they would rather have their hands on goods than cash that is getting devalued," Coty Prestige regional director, Americas travel retail and export Tanguy de Buchet comments. While information is difficult to obtain March-April 2014 - N°17 - BW Confidential

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BW Confidential - Issue #17 - March/April 2014

Cover
Comment
Contents
Update
Brand & retail news recap
Companies on the move
Take note Market facts, figures & trends
Best of BW Highlights from our e-publication
Launches The latest in fragrance, skincare & make-up
Interview Guerlain ceo Laurent Boillot
Insight: Make-up
Category overview
Budget brands
The latest trends
Retail
Innovative strategies
Retail
Vending machines
Store concepts
Digital Social media content
Market watch: Latin America
Regional overview
Mexico: country analysis
Mexico: prestige retailing
Colombia: country analysis
Colombia: prestige retailing
Argentina: country analysis
Argentina: prestige retailing
Radar A profile of six up-and-coming beauty brands
Emerging markets Company profile: Mahogany
Travel retail: Brazilian travelers
Analysis
Industry viewpoint
Packaging: Decoration techniques
Trends analysis
Innovations
Last word Diagonal Reports analyst Jacqueline Clarke

BW Confidential - Issue #17 - March/April 2014