I really do not mean to become an unquestioning defender of the cosmetics industry, but it is quite unfortunate to see that no one comments reports like the one recently broadcast in French TV magazine Envoyé Spécial, entitled Beauty at low cost. As a matter of fact, it contains many untruths and approximations that are worth being mentioned.
It would be proper to correct what is said in the report about different points:
• Measuring hydration with a corneometer is little or no discriminating, hence the fact that it is very complicated, even impossible to compare products with one another
• It is costly to manufacture makeup, contrary to what is asserted, except for those who buy their products from manufacturers that invest a lot for others or work in countries offering incomparable wage costs
• Makeup products are difficult to design and manufacture
• Aluminium levels depend on the product colour and are due to perfectly authorized aluminium pigments, so it is erroneous to compare products with each other without correcting this parameter
• When you do neither R&D, nor innovation, nor advertising, nor other common activities, cost structures cannot be compared
• Lastly, copying is always less expensive than creating!
And yet, this type of reports should raise concern among brands about these value chain issues and how to make them known. To me, choosing not to communicate about these issues is no longer the right way to act.
Ultimately, I do not see the point in practising ‘commoditization’ in our industry, which this type of …
