Kline Hones In on the Potential of Professional Hair Care in Asia

Kline & Company has seen the salon hair care market change a lot over the past almost 20 years of analysis. In its latest Salon Hair Care Global Series report, Kline shows Asia is a growing contributor to the global salon hair care industry, accounting for nearly one-third of the global market share. Moreover, recent findings from its report indicate an increase in the sales of professional hair care products in Asian markets in 2013. Overall market growth is 3%, which is an improvement from 2012 growth rates.

One of the reasons for this change is that the Korean market picked up in 2013, contributing to the overall growth in the region since Korea is a big market. The increasing number of salons in South Korea and economic growth have helped the local market to grow. Hair coloring grew the fastest in 2013 due to changing hairstyle trends featuring different hair colors.

India remains a star performer in Asia, with its impressive double-digit growth. The economic slowdown does not have a direct impact on salon spending, so the market keeps flourishing. Interestingly, non-salon brands like Unilever’s TreSemmé entering professional salons (although typical salon brands also perform well) are responsible for some of this growth. Increasing purchasing power and more demanding consumers continue to positively impact this growth as well.

In terms of categories, conditioners show the largest increase. Even in Japan, where the overall market is flat, conditioners show a very healthy increase in sales. Hair oils are still growing in popularity in the region, along with scalp treatments. Keratin-infused products also are gaining popularity as evidenced by new launches, such as L’Oréal Professionnel’s Pro-Keratin line. In-salon hair treatments, already very popular in many Asian countries, also experience robust growth.

The growth is coming from various emerging demographic groups—men, the older generation, as well as the younger generation. This encourages marketers to diversify their product portfolio in order to take advantage of growth opportunities in different areas.

Because many of the Asian markets could be classified as emerging ones, the forecast for the region remains optimistic. With the exception of Japan, which is among the world’s biggest salon hair care markets projected to remain stagnant, other markets should continue to see growth driven primarily by India. Many global brands are still making their way into those markets, which are full of opportunities.

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