It’s no secret that the salon hair care market suffered gravely due to the coronavirus pandemic. With salons closed for several months, most countries analyzed in our Salon Hair Care Global Series report registered declines. Despite these setbacks, some of the trends that started in previous years, like the move toward sustainability and channel diversification, further accelerated, helping marketers survive the global crisis. Below are some of these trends that took place in Europe:
E-Commerce is Saving the Day
Most European markets saw almost 50% growth in e-commerce sales in 2020. This rapid increase enabled many markets to maintain a reasonable performance despite several months of salon closures. The United Kingdom, Germany, and the Nordics region are leading e-com players, accounting for more than 50% of all e-commerce sales in Europe.
L’Oréal, which began focusing on the e-commerce sales channel several years ago, is the undisputed leader in e-commerce sales in Europe. The marketer held the top three positions with the Kérastase, L´Oréal Professionel, and Redken brands in 2020. It is followed by companies such as Wella, Henkel, and Kao.
Sustainability is Becoming More Important
The pandemic boosted the demand for organic, vegan, and sustainable hair care products. Thanks to their natural-oriented positioning, brands like Maria Nila, Insights, and Kevin.Murphy were able to grow despite the unfavorable market situation.
Big players were also following this trend with natural-oriented launches. For instance, Henkel’s Authentic Beauty Concept is a premium hair care and styling brand that uses vegan formulas in its products. In 2020, the brand launched its first sustainable in-salon Refill Bar, with 92% recycled plastic bottles and 85% bio-based PE labels.
Independent Stylists are Growing in Numbers
As salons across the globe were closed for a considerable period, many stylists decided to take the independent route. Poland, a country where more than half of the hairdressers are working independently, registered triple-digit increases in the number of independent hair stylists.
Other markets where these numbers were particularly strong were Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Russia, and Spain. Independent stylists are certainly a group to be watched for by manufacturers, already representing a considerable purchase force in many markets.
Our Salon Hair Care Global Series report examines how the salon hair care industry is evolving during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is diversifying for the new normal. In this edition, we quantify brand sales by channels and also cover a record number of more than 30 markets, including the newly added Central European and Balkan regions.
