Profit is how much a company earns after deducting its expenses (Williams, 2020). A profit margin is a percentage of the portion of sales revenue that a company gets to keep as profit (Segal, 2023). The cosmetics industry is expanding massively, with growth of over 15 percent in 2022 compared to 2021 (Petruzzi, 2023). The global beauty market is currently valued at $625.70 billion (2023), and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.32% between 2023 and 2028.The cosmetics industry is often split into five categories: make-up, perfume, skin care, hygiene products and hair care. In 2020 the UK’s beauty industry was ranked the 7^th largest cosmetics market in the world (Statista, 2023). Skincare is the leading sector in the industry with a 41% market share, haircare with 22%, makeup with 16%, fragrances with 11% and hygiene products with 10%. The beauty category that grew the most in 2022 was fragrance, driven by new consumers and luxury perfumes becoming more affordable (L’Oréal 2022 Annual Report, 2022).  A brand should focus on the customers, partners and clients they already have rather than trying to branch out to new ones during uncertain economic times, strengthening these relationships will lead to economic gain later on. Many brands cut marketing budgets when an economic recession hits, however studies show that brands who do maintain or increase advertising do actually gain more market share than those who cut back. Companies could put time into improving technologies and building content to drawn in more customers. Providing certainty to customers and partners is very important, leading to stability and longevity being associated to the brand (Clausen, 2020). Creativity is incredibly important when it comes to business, having a creative mindset leads to new ideas, different approaches and more possibilities which ultimately leads to higher levels of success within the business (Whitaker, 2018). To bridge the gap between creativity and commerce, directors need to have as much knowledge in both fields as possible so that relationships can be formed between the two. Business and making connections must be focused on first to allow creative opportunities to be available in the future, especially for collaborations with other businesses. Creative processes can be unstable so by proving that the business side of things is serious first, will give collaborators that security they need and increase the chances of them forming a partnership (Young, 2015).

Works Cited

Clausen, E., 2020. Marketing Rules To Follow During Uncertain Economic Times. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/04/03/marketing-rules-to-follow-during-uncertain-economic-times/
[Accessed 22 October 2023].

L’Oréal 2022 Annual Report, 2022. Beauty market. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.loreal-finance.com/en/annual-report-2022/beauty-market/#scrollto-anchor-44893
[Accessed 22 October 2023].

Petruzzi, D., 2023. Cosmetics industry – statistics & facts. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/3137/cosmetics-industry/#topicOverview
[Accessed 22 October 2023].

Segal, T., 2023. Profit Margin: Definition, Types, Uses in Business and Investing. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/profitmargin.asp
[Accessed 22 October 2023].

Statista, 2023. Beauty & Personal Care – Worldwide. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/beauty-personal-care/worldwide
[Accessed 22 October 2023].

Whitaker, A., 2018. Bridging the gap between art and business [Interview] (31 October 2018).

Williams, S., 2020. Profit. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.fe.training/free-resources/accounting/profit/
[Accessed 22 October 2023].

Young, B. E., 2015. How do you bridge the gap between creativity and business?. [Online] 
Available at: https://uncannycreativity.com/how-do-you-bridge-the-gap-between-creativity-and-business/
[Accessed 22 October 2023].