Vanity, thy name is man.
Over the next five years, this country's men are expected to drive a 13 per cent increase in per capita spending on personal care.
Euromonitor International estimates people living in the UAE will spend more than Dh1,280 (US$348) on personal care products in 2017, compared with last year's Dh1,131.
It starts with the male scalp.
According to Euromonitor, a UK-based research group, the biggest influence on the rising sales will be men buying more premium hair care products.
The growth will be even more stark in Saudi Arabia, where men's premium hair care, men's mass hair care and men's skin care all appear on a list of the sector's top five growth factors.
"Men's toiletries and basically specialised men's products are seeing very high growth," said Sana Toukan, Euromonitor's research manager for the Middle East.
Sales of premium men's hair care products are expected to grow by 25 per cent this year in Saudi Arabia and by about 16 per cent in the UAE.
Euromonitor pegs the total value of the UAE market for personal-care products at Dh3.808 billion last year, Dh4.015bn this year, and Dh4.879bn in 2017.
Ms Toukan said an increase in the number of men's products for sale is behind the per-capita rise, buttressed by a surge in advertising.
"If you look around Dubai at the big billboards on Sheikh Zayed Road for example, a lot of TV advertising, a lot of sampling in stores ... it is becoming more of a trend that men are buying more specialised products and they are being pushed by multinationals to buy more specialised products," said Ms Toukan.
Dubai-based Kaya Skin Clinic is also witness to the trend. A spokesman said that men have increased from 12 per cent of the clinic's clients in 2011 to 20 per cent this year.
The beauty trend will come into focus next month in Dubai at one of the world's largest trade fairs for beauty, hair and fragrance products.
Beautyworld Middle East 2013, which runs from May 28 to 30 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, is expected to have a 27 per cent increase in space and a 25 per cent increase in exhibitors from last year.
Other factors lifting the sector over the next five years will include more product launches, with multinationals increasingly focusing on the Middle East as traditional markets such as western Europe slump.
The modernisation of the retail sector will also play a role.
"This is especially important for Saudi Arabia. Although your hypermarkets and supermarkets have the biggest share of sales of beauty and personal care, interestingly enough still in Saudi and the UAE there has been an increase in the share of beauty specialist retailers who are actually located in malls," Ms Toukan said.
More companies are creating products tailored to the Middle East market, such as whitening products, which are becoming more popular. And as the economy recovers, people will have higher disposable incomes.
Overall, says Euromonitor, more men are becoming beauty fans, but women are still the bigger spenders.
gduncan@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Results
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company%C2%A0profile
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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
UAE%20SQUAD
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Company%20Profile
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Company%20profile
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