ceremony was a significant move; several members
of local government attended including Margaret
Mwankatwe, the Commerce, Trade, and Industry
Minister. A press release from the event stated, “M.A.C
remains committed to developing new categories,
products and over 50 collections each year in order to
serve the demand of customers.”
Uganda Banning Select Imported Cosmetics
In an effort to crack down on dangerous imported
goods containing mercury and hydroquinone, the
Uganda National Bureau of Standards, UNBS, has
made plans to put a ban into effect. Starting on March
31st traders and importers will be prohibited from
selling any products that contain the two ingredients,
which pose health risks. Dr. Ben Manyindo, in a
statement for the UNBS, explained, “There are more
than 100 prohibited substances in cosmetics, but we are
particularly concerned about those substances because
they have proven that they are very harmful to our
bodies.”
Manyindo later continued, “We agreed with cosmetics
distributors that by 1 April 2016, the cosmetic products
which do not conform to the agreed standards should
not be in the market. Standards have always been in
place but one challenge has been the implementation
of these standards.” Both of the ingredients are shown
to endanger internal organs while hydroquinone also
increases risks of ultra-violet ray damage and cancer.
Latin America
P&G Sells Escudo Soap
As a pa rt of its move to consolidate its holdings, P&G
has announced the sale of the Latin American Escudo
brand to Kimberly-Clark de México. The brand has
dealt in antibacterial soap for over 50 years and is one
of the leaders in the market. The sale is one of the latest
in P&G’s sales of more than 43 beauty brands. A press
release from the company added, “The transaction, for
an undisclosed amount, is expected to close during the
first half of 2016 subject to necessary regulatory approvals.”
Sephora Reveals 2016 Plans for Brazilian
Market
In an interview with Brazil Beauty News, VP of Marketing and Merchandising for Sephora Latin America,
Andrea Orcioli, gave an overview of the company’s
progress in the Brazilian market as well as their plans
for the next year. The retailer is incredibly popular in
the market; the Brazilian beauty industry is one of the
largest, and demand for prestige products has ensured
that Sephora Brazil is extremely popular with consumers. Interestingly enough, many of the most popular
products are the same as Sephora North America. Andrea Orcioli listed some of the top products to her interviewers: “the Naked eyeshadow palette (Urban Decay),
the POREfessional facial primer (Benefit), the Rouge
Cream lipstick (Sephora Collection), the Ultra HD invisible cover foundation (Make Up For Ever) and the
Eau de Beauté Beauty Elixir (Caudalie).”
The brand has big plans for the next year as Orcioli explained, “We opened two stores in São Paulo and
three kiosks in Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Campinas at
the end of last year. Our aim for 2016 is to continue
growing and bringing exclusive brands and products to
our customers, as well as being physically present in
new places. We began the year by opening a pop up
store at Tijuca Shopping Mall, in Rio de Janeiro, and
will invest further in this format, which has really taken off. We will continue to expand our store chain and
should land in Rio Grande do Sul later this year.”
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