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The `consumer's champion' is moving its cut-price own-label assault to the suncare sector. Can it make inroads? By Helen Sage
More than 40,000 people die of skin cancer each year in the UK. Between 1991 and 1995, the value of the total sun cream market increased by almost 40 per cent - to the point that in 1995 it was worth L115m.
The two figures are not unrelated. In the Eighties, sun cream products were marketed to promote a "healthy" tan. By the Nineties, "protection" had become the focus. Fear has replaced the desire for a bit of colour and price is a secondary concern. As a result, it is premium brands such as Ambre Solaire, PizBuin and Sun E45 which have experienced the biggest growth, according to Mintel figures.
But now Asda, which has spent the past two years positioning itself as the consumer's friend, is entering the market. It will adopt its usual posture of saying it is offering a cheaper alternative - but will have to convince consumers that its Sun System range is of good enough quality to prevent them from frying.
For the first time consumers will be able to purchase a range of 12, 200ml bottles of suntan creams at a uniform price of L4.99 each, regardless of factor, when the products go on sale next week. By contrast, market leader Ambre Solaire's factor...