How the Singapore beauty and wellness industry is fighting back

Dr Biz • October 9, 2020

Along with food and beverage, the Singapore beauty and wellness sector has been one of the hardest-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. As more and more Singaporeans have been working from home and not socialising as frequently as they were before, the need for immaculate skin, hair and make-up has shrunk. As such, salons around Singapore have felt the pinch.

According to the Spa and Wellness Association of Singapore, the city-state’s beauty and wellness industry contains more than 18,000 businesses that employ around 100,000 staff, while the market is valued at US $1,040 million. Indeed, so valuable is the industry to Singapore that in June 12,000 people signed a petition calling for beauty salons to be allowed to reopen along with hair salons after the end of the circuit breaker period.

Support for Singapore beauty

The impact that the pandemic has had on the industry was also recently recognised by Enterprise Singapore, which launched new industry body The Beauty Services Alliance (BSA). Representing 6,000 businesses across the industry, the BSA brings together five large trade bodies within the sector and includes large chain operators as well as independent salons and freelance therapists.

In order to help spur growth and development in the sector post-Covid-19, BSA launched the Beauty Services Competency Framework (BSCF), a new framework of career progression pathways that covers 45 job roles across the Singapore beauty services industry. The BSCF is aiming to grow the number of positions for local Singaporeans in the sector by 30% come 2025.

Speaking to the Business Times, Enterprise Singapore’s executive director for lifestyle and consumer Kee Ai Nah said: "While Covid-19 has given rise to challenges for the industry, there remains strong demand for beauty services and leisure activities, which will potentially generate new and attractive opportunities for jobs and skills upgrading for Singaporeans.”

Strong sector growth

Despite the struggles the beauty and wellness sector has faced, though, according to the latest statistics it contracted by just 1.4% so far in 2020, with revenue falling only slightly from US $1,055 million in 2019. Moreover, it is one of the fastest growing sectors in Singapore, boasting a compound annual growth rate of around 2% before the pandemic. Within that, the Singapore beauty services sector is growing even faster, around 10% per year according to Ms. Nah, while Singapore’s cosmetics market saw growth of around 5% between 2016 and 2020.

In a recent interview, Dylan Cheang, senior strategist at investment house DBS in-fact labelled the sector a “sleeping beauty”, that is set for a big rebound following the end of the crisis, particularly when a vaccine is found. He noted that, currently, consumers are diverting their spending from cosmetics to skincare, but that once life returns to normal in Singapore and around the world, the global cosmetics and personal care industry is likely to rebound strongly. According to Cheang, "pamper yourself" will become the new mantra in the post-Covid-19 world.

Innovation through crisis

As with so many other areas of the economy, the pandemic has also brought innovation to the Singapore beauty sector, with start-ups launched to address consumers’ growing concern over hygiene when receiving beauty services. These include mobile massage app Theraply, which was launched in February by professional therapist Valerie De Costa, who says she hopes to eventually become "the Grab of massages". As well as providing a solution for those less willing to travel to a salon, Theraply also aims to improve working conditions for Singapore’s masseuse’s, many of whom De Costa says have previously had to work under questionable conditions.

There are plenty of beauty consumers, though, that are in-fact itching to get out of the house, and having a beauty treatment at a new salon is the perfect excuse. Newly launched Tropika Club is the answer to such cravings. Founded by ex-banker Louis Lye, Tropika Club is a platform listing more than 4,000 beauty, wellness and fitness offerings from more than 200 businesses often at attractive off-peak discounts. Launched in July, the platform now has over 1,000 sign ups and saw 700 bookings in its first month alone. According to Lye, the Covid pandemic was a big boost for the business, as it prompted many beauty providers to finally digitalise and list their services online.

As we like to mention on the Dr Biz blog, Singapore is home to some of the most vibrant and innovative small companies in the world, and those in the Singapore beauty and wellness sector are no different. Along with its famous food outlets, the City-state’s many massage and beauty services are world class and deserve the support they are receiving from the government. With innovation also playing a leading role in the sector’s recovery, it is likely we’ll soon see business booming at our favourite beauty spots.

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