Cosmetic chains generate about 80% of segment sales in Poland - July 2011

The aggressive expansion of Rossman and other cosmetic chains coupled with the development of supermarket and discount chains throughout the country has led to the waning of traditional stores that are unable to compete with such strong players. In order to improve the odds of market survival, some independent retailers have began to join together into chains. In 2010 the market saw many such initiatives, one after the other.

Between 2006 an 2010 more than 1,200 cosmetics stores disappeared off the Polish streets, replaced by nearly the same number of chain outlets, which means that around 2,500 traditional cosmetics shops were closed down in the period. According to our estimates, in 2010 sales of chains increased 17% while independent retailers' sales shrunk by around 18%. As a result, chains, which account for 30% of all cosmetics stores in Poland, generated 80% of segment turnover.