The perfume market and perfumeries in France

Perfume is a cosmetic product composed of essential oils and alcohol, which can take various forms, such as eaux de parfum and eaux de toilettes, depending on the alcohol concentration and manufacturing process. Essential oils themselves, however, are excluded from the scope of this study.

The perfume market covers all toiletries intended to be applied to a person in order to voluntarily impregnate him or her with a pleasant scent, and therefore includes eaux de toilette, eaux de parfum and eaux de Cologne. Perfumeries are the places where these products are distributed, and can take many different forms, from supermarkets to perfumers' workshops.

The global perfume market is worth around $50 billion, and has been rising steadily for several years, a trend that is set to continue in the future at a CAGR of 5.51% per annum until 2030. This dynamic is driven by the positive performance of the luxury goods sector, particularly French companies such as Chanel, Dior and L'Oréal, and by the growing number of fragrance references, offering products adapted to all markets and consumers.

In 2023, perfume sales in France rose by 7%. The perfume market was driven by both a volume effect, driven by the recovery in consumption following the covid crisis, and a price effect, with inflation-driven price rises in France.

In an environment characterized by persistent inflation, players who have not succeeded in fully passing on the rise in their production costs to the final price must consider adjusting their prices if they want to maintain or even increase their margins. This need is all the more pressing in view of persistent supply chain constraints . The publication of LVMH's disappointing H1 2023 results highlighted the challenges faced by the luxury goods sector in general, due to reduced Chinese demand. The industry, which has enjoyed very strong growth in recent years, faces a number of issues in 2023.