29. Business America

Not all that glitters is high-tech-especially in terms of U.S. exports. In fact, in 1995, American cosmetics manufacturers exported $1.9 billion worth of products. And the future looks even brighter if the results of the U.S. pavilions at the annual COSMOPROF show are any indication.

The greatest (cosmetics) show on Earth
COSMOPROF is the world's largest and most important cosmetics trade show. Every year, for the past three decades, it has been held in Bologna, Italy, a bustling center of industrial and agricultural activity in Italy's heartland. Each year, the crowds of trade visitors get bigger. This year, COSMOPROF attracted some 1,272 exhibitors and close to 115,000 trade visitors, including more than 16,000 from 126 foreign (other than Italy) countries. They came to see the latest in beauty, skin care, and hair grooming products.

As usual, the United States brought the largest foreign delegation, organized by Commercial Service Italy and the Department of Commerce in Washington (Trade Development). In fact, with 93 firms participating, this American delegation was the largest ever. Seventy-five firms participated directly while 18 were represented in a catalog display organized by the Los Angeles District Office.

In 1989, the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors (ICMAD) enlisted U.S. Department of Commerce support to organize the first-ever U.S. pavilion, which featured 24 exhibitors-a cooperative effort that continues today and yields outstanding results. In 1993, the Beauty and Barber Supply Institute (BBSI) joined ICMAD and Commerce to promote participation to its members. COSMOPROF has become an important showcase for American cosmetics products and services; today, demand to participate in the show by American companies is so great that there are in fact three U.S. pavilions in three different halls at the Bologna Fairgrounds.

The Department of Commerce, through Trade Development's Office of Consumer Goods and CS Italy, continues to recruit for the pavilion with the close collaboration of ICMAD and BBSI. ICMAD and BBSI have looked to Commerce to provide the important institutional framework required to support their memberships' participation and their own recruitment efforts.

A beautiful success!
The 75 American exhibitors-all small- and medium-size-displayed an impressive array of top quality and innovative cosmetics products, which attracted the attention of some of the world's leading buyers. The results were astounding-a whopping $6.5 million in off-the-floor sales and 108 representation agreements signed with agents and distributors from 47 different nations. Subsequent sales could raise the final figures into the tens of million of dollars, a truly beautiful success!

Why are the U.S. pavilions at COSMOPROF so successful? In part, of course, there is the recognition that the American cosmetics industry is a world leader in a broad range of products from nail polish to natural skin care. Price competitiveness, as well as quality and innovation, underlie the attractiveness of American firms in this sector. The visibility and identification with the United States provided by the Commercial Service banner, and the various services provided to the exhibitors by CS Italy (interpreters, booth logistics, meeting areas), act as magnets for potential buyers and agents. As Nisso Benattar, vice president of Carlstadt, N.J.-based Cobra Henna stated, "if we were in any other pavilion, we would not get the. . .