Clarins slashes Asia forecast

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Clarins cuts anticipates growth of only 75% the levels originally anticipated for the year in Asia, but group ceo Christian Courtin Clarins remains optimistic about long-term prospects

French cosmetics group Clarins has scaled down its growth forecast in Asia for 2003 to 15% from 20% due to the impact of SARS and the regional travel downturn, anticipating full-year sales of around $1.15 bn. The company revealed that regional sales of its skincare products fell ?slightly? in the first half of the year, most noticeably in Hong Kong, Singapore and China.

But Clarins Group ceo Christian Courtin Clarins remained confident about long-term prospects in the region, anticipating annual sales of around $2bn by 2008. He revealed that an increase in Clarins' advertising and promotional budget over the next five years - to 30% of total regional sales - would help them achieve the target, as would the introduction of line extensions and new skincare, cosmetics and fragrance brands. The company's portfolio is also likely to be bolstered by the acquisition of established cosmetics brands, Clarins added.