GENEVE, 1er mars (Reuters) - BMW entend rester le leader mondial des voitures de luxe devant ses compatriotes Mercedes-Benz et Audi, a déclaré mardi le président du directoire du constructeur allemand au salon de Genève.

"Notre objectif est d'être numéro un", a dit Harald Krüger, ajoutant s'attendre à une légère progression des ventes de BMW cette année en raison de sa croissance en Chine et en Europe.

Le lancement d'une version longue du BMW X1 en Chine devrait contribuer à une hausse des ventes dans ce pays au second semestre, ce qui devrait se traduire par une légère croissance des ventes en Chine sur l'ensemble de l'année, a déclaré Harald Krüger.

Les ventes en Europe devraient pour leur part augmenter de 5% à 10%, a-t-il poursuivi.

Les nouvelles règles européennes sur les émissions polluantes vont contraindre BMW à effectuer d'importants investissements, qui se chiffreront en centaines de millions d'euros, a dit le président du directoire du constructeur bavarois.

BMW est engagé dans des discussions constructives avec le gouvernement allemand sur les moyens de développer les ventes de véhicules électriques et la prochaine séance de négociations se déroulera d'ici fin avril, a-t-il ajouté.

Interrogé au sujet de l'éventualité d'une sortie de la Grande-Bretagne de l'Union européenne, Harald Krüger a répondu: "De manière générale, nous n'aimons pas effectuer des investissements dans des circonstances incertaines." Il a souligné que ces propos ne devaient pas être interprétés comme une indication sur la stratégie de BMW en Grande-Bretagne. (Edward Taylor; Bertrand Boucey pour le service français, édité par Véronique Tison)

From Premium beauty news,  extract of the Research on Trends lead by Les Persiennes Consulting, by Nilufar Khalessi

After 35 years of isolation, Iran is making a comeback on the international stage. This little-known country, which already represents 29% of the beauty market in the Middle East, is often described as the ‘new eldorado’ for cosmetics brands. Nilufar Khalessi, the French-Persian Founder of trends and consulting agency Les Persiennes Consulting, has taken a look at this country for a first qualitative, forward-looking deciphering. She gave Premium Beauty News an overview of the study The New Faces Of Iran - Fashion, Beauty & Paradoxes, to be presented next May.

With a population of 80 million inhabitants, including 55% under 30, Iran is a growth-driving, dynamic market. The fact that international sanctions have been lifted and that the economic situation should therefore improve have made it even more attractive. But this country is not without its own paradoxes.

For a thorough understanding of unknown Persia’s trends and lifestyles, the study The New Faces Of Iran - Fashion, Beauty & Paradoxes first describes the historical, geographical, cultural, and social pillars that define the Persian civilization. As a tremendous cultural and historical cradle, the country that became an Islamic Republic after the 1979 Revolution, mainly defines itself according to its ancient origins. “It is a Muslim country, but people consider themselves Persians and Iranians above all. It is essential to understand this subtlety,” Nilufar Khalessi explains.

Despite an embargo that lasted for decades, the major cities of Iran have been experiencing much progress, driven by the dynamics of a 2.0, highly-connected, Western-oriented young generation. However, the choices made by these young people show they will not let foreign countries dictate their consumption habits, as they actually prefer national goods. “Young Iranians deliberately have not completely assimilated the Western culture, although they do know and master its codes, since they have integrated them. And we would make a mistake if we tried to force them into a mould,” Nilufar Khalessi adds.

Iranian women, a status apart
As they are extremely educated – so is most of the population in large cities - Iranian women enjoy an important part in society. They are very present in institutions and play a crucial role, whether in the family or society. “The status of women is different from what can be observed in many Arab countries. Even the way they wear their veils is more lax, as it does not completely frame their faces and allows for much femininity to be seen,” Nilufar Khalessi explains.

The study used portraits of women from Isfahan, Tehran, and Shiraz to shape the contours of a generation that has been playing with the paradox between their public lives, as they comply with the established Islamic laws, and their private lives, subverting these laws for more freedom, whether in terms of beauty or fashion. Women are deeply committed to this young generation’s active and creative development, in all artistic fields.

The face at the core of femininity
“Iranian women hardly go out without makeup on, because the relationship with aesthetics is strongly developed,” Nilufar Khalessi affirms. Therefore, it is essential for them to beautify their eyes, eyebrows, lips, and hair. “In the city, the veil does not completely frame women’s faces. It is a real distinguishing feature: half the hair is uncovered, so women work a lot on it, often dying it blonde, and they are not keen on naturalness”. Facial care focuses on “zero defect” choices to fight against pollution-related problems, acne, or oily skins. In addition, the study highlights the very strong relationship with plastic surgery, in particular rhinoplasty.

“They choose L’Oréal, Dior, Lancôme, and many other well-established brands for their daily consumption, although they also buy other products by interesting local brands to be studied,” Nilufar Khalessi concludes.

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Though the 66-year-old former Olympian won't be walking down any Victoria's Secret runways anytime soon, the transgender activist just became the newest face of MAC Cosmetics, reports CNN.

"She has come to represent courage, fearlessness, honesty and compassion - characteristics long-prized and celebrated by MAC," the company said in an official statement.

The makeup company released its first photo of Jenner in a tweet regarding the new launch.

"All Ages. All Races. All Sexes. #MACCaitlynJenner online in Apr," they wrote.

The lipstick that she is launching is called "Finally Free," which references her own struggle to come out and embrace her gender identity. It will be in stores on Apr. 7 and all of the proceeds will go to programs meant to support transgender communities. They will also benefit the MAC AIDS Fund Transgender Initiaitve

"Her beautiful transformation inspires all of us to live our best lives and to honor who we are. Differences are what make us interesting. Acceptance, warmth and understanding are what make us human," the company went on to say in the statement.  

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This article pinpoints two important facts : American want stronger regulation of cosmetics in the US in order to protect beauty customers in their personal care but this also highlights a willingness for more protectionism of american skincare business in the US.

WASHINGTON – A survey released today by the Mellman Group and American Viewpoint shows that voters overwhelmingly support stricter regulation of the chemical ingredients used in their personal care products.

More specifically:  

94 percent believe that companies should be required to notify the government when their products injure consumers.
87 percent believe federal officials should have the authority to recall personal care products found to contain toxic chemicals.
87 percent want stricter regulation of personal care products.
74 percent are less likely to purchase products from companies that fight regulation.
 
Almost two-thirds of likely voters want their cosmetics to be safe.
 
A third are under the mistaken impression that the government has cleared most of the chemicals used in personal care products. 
 
“These poll results show that Americans want to ensure that the personal care products they use each and every day are safe,” said Scott Faber, vice president of government affairs at EWG. “Few consumers have any idea how minimal the current regulation of chemicals is. No other class of products is so widely used, and in such large quantities, with so few safeguards.”

There is very little regulation of the $60 billion-a-year personal care products industry. The federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, which was supposed to guarantee the safety of cosmetics, is nearly 80 years old and falls far short of ensuring that cosmetics are safe.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have introduced a bipartisan bill to close this regulatory gap. It would require companies to ensure that their products are safe before putting them on the market and give the Food and Drug Administration the tools it needs to protect the public. The legislation, titled the Personal Care Products Safety Act, would strengthen federal regulations that have remained largely unchanged since 1938, requiring the FDA to review five potentially risky cosmetics ingredients each year and giving it the agency authority to ban or restrict ingredients based on these assessments.

This is the first time that federal legislation on this issue has earned the support of both consumer and industry groups including the Personal Care Products Council, leading cosmetic companies and major public health organizations.

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Paru dans Cosmetiquemag, Mars 2016, Angélique Vallez d'Erceville

Alors que des pépites américaines ou britanniques font le buzz et s'invitent dans les rayons, les petites nouvelles sont rarement françaises. Avec ses marques patrimoniales et la maturité de son marché, l'Hexagone s'apparente à une montagne difficile à franchir.

«En France, l'espace est encombré avec une très forte concentration de la distribution . Le ticket d'entrée est très élevé.La percée de nouvelles marques est sans doute plus facile au Royaume-Uni ou aux États-Unis.» [Philippe Jourdan]

«Trois conditions sont nécessaires pour réussir : avoir une histoire , un actif qui fait la différence et être appuyé par un groupe avec des moyens ,car il faut injecter des millions d'euro dans la machine.» [Laurent Pelletier, directeur général d'IXI]

«Quand un marché est mature, les routines se figent. Les détourner devient plus compliqué et plus coûteux. les Françaises attendent certes de nouvelles franchises, mais plutôt de la part des marques existantes" [Philippe Jourdan]

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With Chinese consumers massively shopping for luxury abroad and online, traditional marketing formulas have limited impact. It is time for luxury brands to rethink their go-to-market approach, putting digital at the core.

Wei proudly shows her latest catch: a colorful textured leather mini handbag she bought during her last business trip to Paris. Wei epitomizes the shopper the whole luxury industry seems to be after at the moment: a start up entrepreneur from Hangzhou and representative of China’s ‘Cultured Youth’, she is both very success driven and hungry for culture.

In fact, she is part of the upcoming generation of Chinese shoppers who are redefining luxury marketing through a triple change: structural change in the market dynamic, change in consumers attitude towards luxury and change in how they navigate the world through digital.

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