Positive non-food sales trends

In January-August 2015 retail sales of household chemicals and cosmetics grew 6 percent to HUF 230 billion, while volume sales improved 1 percent from the base period. Nielsen’s client service director Mónika Barta told our magazine that there was a two-digit growth in shower gel, decorative cosmetics, body lotion, anti-wrinkle face and eye cream and perfume sales. Fabric softener, paper handkerchief and toilet cleaner sales also increased by more than 10 percent. Drugstores’ share from value sales grew from 32 to 34 percent, while hypermarkets lost 2 percentage points and dropped to 32 percent. Drugstores’ revenue augmented by 13 percent and they sold 6 percent more than in the base period. The central region (Budapest and Pest County), where 28 percent of the population lives, was responsible for 36 percent of value sales.