THE SOGIETY OF GOSMETIG GHEMISTS OF GREAT BRITAIN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AT THE Annual General Meeting of the Society held at the Bonnington Hotel, Southampton Row, on May !7th, 1957, the following Officers and Members of Council were elected for 1957-1958: President: J. Pickthall, F.R.I.C. Vice-President: A.W. Middleton, B.Sc., Ph.D., F.R.I.C. Hon. Secretary: F. Riley. Hon. Treasurer: R.E. Spate. Members of Council: G.A. Pitt, M.Sc., A.R.I.C., A.M.I.I.A. P. G. Gugenheim, M.A., A.R.I.C. E. Polan. The following serve for a further year as members of Council: Drs. H. W. Hibbott, W. Mitchell and W. W. Myddleton. At the close of the business meeting the retiring President, Mr. R. T. Dobson, gave an address on "Marketing Trends." Beginning with a review of the cosmetic industry in America, Mr. Dobson gave an encouraging pre-view of things-to-come in the cosmetic industry in Western Europe. The varied climatic and geographical conditions and the diverse racial types in America gave rise to variations in complexion, the texture and dryness or oiliness of the skin creating demands for special cosmetic preparations. The vast home market in America, serving a population of 165 million people in an area of 3 million square miles, gave the Cosmetic Houses an opportunity to buy in bulk and employ extensive mechanisation, so reducing production costs and opening up their products to a much wider income group in the market. The United Kingdom has a population of 51[ million in an area of 94 thousand square miles and Western Europe has 280 million people in an area of 1-15 million square miles, giving a density of population in Western Europe about five times that in America. In assessing the effect of this on the cosmetic market in Europe, it must be noted that the standard of living and average purchasing power are much greater in America. Although figures are not available for expenditure on cosmetics, Mr. Dobson gave interesting statistics of the sums spent on personal care and health in different countries during the past twenty years, showing rapid increases in all. The development of the European Economic Community and the prospect of a Scandinavian Common Market open up the possibility of a Western European market for cosmetics similar to that in existence in America and influenced by similar variations in climatic and geographical conditions and variation in racial types. At the present moment, Great 260

ANNUAL GENERAL I•IEETING 261 Britain is excluded from the European Economic Community because of difficulties connected with Imperial Preference, but it is likely that these difficulties will be resolved. Mr. Dobson explained that not all lines popular in the United States prove equally attractive elsewhere for example, face cleansing creams and lotions and nourishing creams have a higher rate of usage in U.S.A. than in the United Kingdom. It may be expected that Western European markets will show increasing sales of these products and of tinted liquid make-up and also possibly of the high-stain type of lipstick. Aerosol packaging may also be expected to spread in Europe. There is a prevailing tendency in Western Europe towards a higher standard of living and this, coupled with an expected increase in population of 18 millions during the next fifteen years, points to a very active future for the Cosmetic Industry. (The Address appears in full at page 263.) KEY TO PHOTOGRAPH OF OFFICERS AND COUNCIL FOR 1957-58. Reading from left to right: Standing. Dr. Hibbott, Dr. W. W. Myddleton, Mr. Gugenheirn, Dr. Mitchell, Mr. Littlejohn, Mr. Polan, Mr. Pitt. Seated. Mr. Riley (Hon. Sec.), Dr. A. W. Myddleton (Vice-President), Mr. ]. Pickthall (President), Mr. Dobson (Immediate Past-President), Mr. Spate (Hon. Treasurer).