Dubai: The cosmetics and skin care companies in the UAE say they are keen on expanding into international markets, such as Africa and Central Asia, where they see strong demand.
The trade exhibition for nail, hair, perfume, skin care and cosmetics companies, Beautyworld Middle East, kicked off in Dubai on Sunday, bringing together 1,530 exhibitors. The show will run until Tuesday.
Cosmetics company Nazih Group is looking for distributors to enter countries in Central Africa and Central Asia, said Wajih Hamad, its chief executive.
“We are looking for distributors and partners from different countries,” he said. The company already exports to the rest of the Gulf, Europe and Iran.
“We are expanding our business through our distributors and new customers,” he said.
In the UAE, Nazih Group is boosting its marketing efforts to attract more customers in a softer retail environment, and does not plan on reducing prices, Hamad said. He expects the company’s sales to grow by 10 per cent in 2016 over the previous year, without giving last year’s sales figure.
Wider Middle East
Another UAE retailer, Sawaya Int’l, is also looking for distributors to expand into Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
“This exhibition attracts everyone that we are targeting … we want to target the entire region and not just the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries. We are targeting India, Pakistan, south of Russia, East Africa and West Africa,” said Fadi Sawaya, chief executive of Sawaya Int’l.
Other companies that are based outside the region see the show as a platform to expand into the UAE and the wider Middle East.
Miguel Guevara, export manager at UK-based Bomb Cosmetics, said that the company sees demand for its luxury cosmetic products in the Arab world.
“We are looking for distributors to expand our brand to Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt. We believe that Arabs are really keen on luxury products and our products fit perfectly in this market … we can see our products in gift shops or perfumeries,” he said.
Data
Consumers in the UAE spent $1.64 billion (Dh6.01 billion) on beauty products last year, according to data from consultancy Euromonitor International. Beauty sales in the country are forecast to reach $2.7 billion by 2020.
The Middle East and Africa is said to be the world’s fastest growing beauty and personal care market, valued at $25.4 billion, and is expected to grow by 6.4 per cent annually over the next five years, according to Euromonitor.