She is a superwoman in real life, a multitasker ? tutoring the kids, meeting deadlines at work, supervising cocktail parties at home and ensuring that hubby?s white shirt looks ?white?! And the first thing that tends to drop off her priority list in the meantime is her own wellbeing.
Priyanka Pundit, 34-year-old HR manager, doesn?t shy away from accepting the fact. ?It?s difficult. You need to compromise somewhere,? she says in her matter-of-fact tone. Shahnaz Husain, Chairperson, Shahnaz Herbals believes there are few like Pundit today. ?There was a time when their own health and wellbeing was given low priority. But, times have changed. They have been giving it much higher priority, especially, since the past one decade,? says Husain. That?s one reason which makes her believe that ?the future of the $5.7 billion industry, which she is part of looks bright despite the global economic slowdown.?
Quite like the ?lipstick effect? that was noticed during past recessions. The phenomenon is primarily marked by the tendency of women to turn to lipsticks when they cut back on other luxuries. Reason? The humble indulgence costs little when compared to designer dresses. And so, people invest in their looks and wellbeing during hard times, since it has a ?feel good? effect (see box).
The trend seems to be replicating in India. The Rs 3,000 crore beauty product business, says Husain, is growing strong at 20%, while the herbal beauty business is growing at a faster rate, at 40%. ?The average Indian spending is around Rs 1,500 per month on personal care products,? she adds, is fuelling the market.
The trend at VLCC beauty and fitness centres would support that. Women comprise over 65% of its total client base and while men have become more conscious about the need to stay fit, women continue to give it priority. ?Number of men signing up for a VLCC slimming or beauty programme has increased largely on account of the influence being exercised by the fairer sex to invest in beauty and fitness,? says Veena Aggarwal, Head Research and Development, VLCC.
Fitness, however, seems to figure after beauty in the priority list of women. But as Vikram Aditya Bhatia, MD, Fitness First, says it is rising up the rank. ?Presently, just 32% of our club members are women and it suggests that women are looking beyond weight loss, focussing on fitness. Interestingly, over 50% of the clients who avail personal trainers are women ? suggesting their need for accelerated results. We are expecting to see a equal split between men and women in near future,? says Bhatia.
Another key indicator could be the health supplement market. The Health Foods and Dietary Supplements Association estimates the nutraceuticals market in India to reach Rs 2,700 crore by the end of the year, up from Rs 1,875 crore in 2007. ?We have seen the demand for health supplements has risen more than 100% in the past two years,? says Ashutosh Garg, CMD, Guardian Pharmacy adding that ?women are meticulous about the health of everyone in her family. But the same careful approach does not exist when it comes to their health.?
However, women can?t boast of equal elan in matters of financial instruments like life and health insurance policies. ?Life insurance category penetration till date is highly skewed towards males, with the split in insured population ownership in India being 86% males and 14% females,? says Anisha Motwani, Executive VP, Marketing, Max New York Life Insurance. But the women policy ownership is as high as 24% with the penetration highest amongst health insurance plans in urban India.
A few blemishes can?t overshadow the larger picture. And the recessionistas are holding post and holding it strong.
Beating the slump
For some, spending on personal wellness is a non-negotiable. Consider Creme Synergique, an anti-wrinkle cream sold at $1,370 for a 40-gram jar. The creme is selling better than expected, says Shiseido Co, Japan?s biggest cosmetics. Elsewhere in Germany, Beiersdorf AG, the German maker of Nivea skin creams, said its 2008 profit rose by 25% as sales of beauty products withstood the economic slowdown.
In Korea, banks and retailers rolling out products catering to the needs of the growing number of ?Gold Misses,? single professional women in their 30s and 40s, even as the news of recession trickled in later last year. Simply more than an emerging purchasing force, ?Gold Misses?? set a trend of breaking away from traditional values like marriage in a country where women are still frowned upon for smoking in public.
NUMBER GAME
World population hit 6,872,741,131 in January 1, 2009
Of 1.2 billion people living in poverty worldwide, 70% are women. ?80% of the world?s 27 million refugees are women
Women own around only 1% of the world?s land
AIDS sees women?s life expectancy of 43 in Uganda and Zambia
5 people are added to the world population every 2 seconds
Women are 2/3 of the 1 billion+ illiterate adults who have no access to basic education