NPD BEAUTYTRENDS® REPORTS 2001 LAUNCH PRODUCTS LURED CONSUMERS TO DEPARTMENT STORE BEAUTY COUNTERSPORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, April 2, 2002 - According to NPD BeautyTrends® , the fragrance, makeup and skincare retail tracking unit of leading market information provider, The NPD Group, Inc., U.S. department store beauty sales were up a modest 1.8 percent in 2001 over 2000. New product launches contributed to the slight increase, comprising four percent of total prestige beauty sales. "New launches impacted the fragrance segment the most, followed by skincare and then makeup. As an effort to expand the base of consumers who shop in department stores, new products were marketed to a wide variety of age and ethnic groups," said Timra Carlson, vice president, NPD BeautyTrends. New launches are defined by NPD BeautyTrends as a product that has been in full distribution for less than one year. "Despite a disappointing year, new launches enticed consumers to the counter," she added. There was an increased focus on women's fragrance launches in 2001, many with an accent on richer florals. New launches represented 10 percent of women's fragrance sales in 2001. Contributing to the sales impact of new fragrances were Miracle from Lancôme (launched in January 2001) and Intuition from Estee Lauder (launched in June 2001). Miracle and Intuition were ranked first and second respectively among all new women's fragrance launches (based on first three months of sales). Men's fragrance launches represented six percent of men's fragrance sales for 2001. New men's fragrances illustrated a shift toward spicier scents. The Estee Lauder Companies introduced T For Him by Tommy Hilfiger in September 2001 and Higher Dior from Christian Dior was launched in August 2001. T For Him and Higher Dior ranked first and second respectively among all new men's fragrance launches (based on first three months of sales). New product share of prestige makeup sales increased in 2001 to seven percent of the total prestige makeup business. "In the past few years, the focus has been strong on the eye and lip categories with the share of new launches increasing the most for these products," said Dianne Barber, makeup manager, NPD BeautyTrends. The mascara war heated up in 2001, resulting in several notable new launches in the eye category. "With its patented brush that instantly thickens, colors and spreads lashes, Amplicils Mascara from Lancôme, launched in June 2001, was a welcomed addition to Lancôme's family of top selling mascaras. Amplicils ranked fifth among all mascara products for all of 2001," added Barber. Sharing the other half of the "most notable new launch" title in prestige makeup was Clinique's Moisture Surge Lipstick. Launched in March, it was the number one lip product introduction in 2001. In skincare, new launch contributions represented nine percent of total skincare sales. According to Mark Brooks, skincare manager, NPD BeautyTrends, "although there was a slight decline in the proportion of skincare launches, this wasn't bad news when you consider the phenomenal success of last year's introductions in prestige skincare. Many companies in 2001 succeeded in introducing products that exhibited features derived from new natural ingredient combinations and technological innovations." According to NPD BeautyTrends, new launches of face products gained importance in 2001. This was the result of a positive year for new, age specialist products, such as Absolue by Lancôme (launched in July 2001) and Total Turnaround Crème from Clinique (launched in July 2001). Both products were the most successful new product launches in prestige skincare. The age specialist segment represented one-third of the total prestige skincare sales launched in 2001. This trend capitalized on the skincare needs of aging baby boomers. In fact, half of the notable new launches in 2001 had anti-aging properties. About NPD BeautyTrends NPD BeautyTrends is the beauty business unit of The NPD Group, Inc. The service offers two types of tracking methodologies covering retail point-of-sale as well as consumer attitudes and usage. Categories covered are fragrances, makeup, skincare, bath and body, and hair care. About The NPD Group, Inc. The NPD Group, Inc. (NPD) is a global market information company that provides business-critical information to companies in a range of industry segments, including: food, fashion, toys and video games, consumer electronics and technology, housewares, automotive, beauty and music. NPD's clients, many in the Fortune 500, use this information to uncover market opportunities, strengthen channel relationships and benchmark industry performance. Since 1967, NPD has introduced numerous industry firsts, most recently the NPD Worlds. As the definitive online source for essential market information and insights organized around business issues, NPD Worlds provide access to information from the company's uniquely combined point-of-sale tracking and world-class online consumer panel. In doing so, NPD Worlds offer a personalized view into what is selling, where, to whom and why. NPD has offices and affiliations in 60 countries. For more information on this press release, contact Dora Radwick at 516-625-6190, e-mail dora_radwick@npd.com BeautyTrends is a registered trademark of The NPD Group, Inc. |