Importance of Digital Discussed at Milan’s Beauty Summit

MILAN — The Italian beauty industry is heading off the 4.0 road. As more and more local consumers are approaching digital channels, cosmetic companies and retailers need to invest online to seize sales opportunities and engage customers. “Italian consumers are ready for e-commerce — as they already buy from foreign web sites — but what’s lacking is a wide offer of online stores,” said Cristina Scocchia, L’Oréal Italia’s former president and chief executive officer, who exited the company last month to pursue a career in private equity. Scocchia was one panel member of Pambianco’s first Beauty Summit, hosted by the Italian fashion and beauty consulting company in partnership with Ernst & Young and held on Thursday at the city’s Bourse building. In Italy, mass distribution and drugstores, perfumeries and pharmacies still represent 75 percent of distribution of cosmetic goods. These channels edged down 0.6 percent last year, while stand-alone stores and e-commerce grew 5 and 35 percent, respectively. However, the latter only accounted for 2 percent of total last year. Both brands and customers — who are more informed and independent compared to the past — are increasingly aiming to interact directly with each other. “Internet and e-commerce are growing in the cosmetic industry, but haven’t registered that exponential

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