Women are more beautiful during recession!!!!

I read an article in Times of India yesterday. The commercial tax-department of India registered a surge in cumulative VAT collection by 13% from the cosmetic industry. The same department saw a negative collection figure from others namely the construction, mining, software, gems and the textile industry. We have read them, heard them , watched them all....

Slump is steel production.....
Real estates prices slump......
Reduction in % of sale of cars......

But Lo! COSMETIC SECTOR SHINES DESPITE MELTDOWN


The report further says that a daily care product company has paid Rs 100.31 crore this year towards VAT as against 81.69 crore last year.

Well, women try to cheer themselves more by indulging themselves in "look good" products in times of recession. That is because they tend to cut back on other luxuries. Well, its proven that shopping is therapeutic; unless you are a shopaholic and you shop till you drop. The thought of owning diamonds and designer dresses are a luxury in times of economic slump. People tend to substitute their shopping lists with "affordable luxuries" such as these. While the diamonds and the clothes remain left out on the rack; you can see cosmetics and other personal grooming products clear off shelf at a faster rate.

It basically drills down to the feel good factor. Its the thing to do with masking your unpleasantness of life, drowning your sorrows in alcohol(Does one need a reason to guzzle onto alcohol? You are happy, celebrate with a beer, you are sad, agonize with a beer!). No wonder the sale of lifestyle products, alcohol and pharmaceuticals remain high even during recession.

One might have heard about "Lipstick Effect". It was a term coined during the 2001 recession by Leonard Lauder, retired chairman and heir to the personal products giant, Estee Lauder. The lipstick sale in USA increased by 11% during 2001 recession. This effect was noticed also during the Great Depression between 1929 and 1933 when the industrial production decreased by half whereas the cosmetic production rose; and the cosmetic sale was up by 25%. It was also noted that the number of people working in the cosmetic industry in the US increased during the recessions of 1990 and 2001. Similar effects have been seen through out the UK, Germany and Japan.

This is similar to men picking up gadgets and other accessories than a brand new car!
Do we have a "Gadget effect" here? No survey yet on this.

With India's economy growing and People's purchasing power getting better each day; no wonder we are seeing the so-called "Lipstick effect" here as well...Way to go! I doubt if there were any indexes to measure the cosmetics sale in India during any economic gloom; prior to this.