Modern Peculiarities of the Spatial Organization Pattern of the Beauty and Personal Care Industry in Russia and Other Countries around the World.

On the cusp of the 20th and 21st century the global beauty and personal care industry experienced important territorial and structural changes. The main factors of those changes were the progress in the R&D and institutional changes in the global economy. This study uses the cluster-area method to analyze the main shifts in the spatial organization of the beauty and personal care industry at different territorial levels. One of the main trends in the mesolevel development of the industry is the growing role of macroeconomic environment for the competitiveness of national economies in the regions in which beauty and personal care businesses are based and conduct their activities. Cluster formation allows local economies to strengthen their industrial specialization and, as a result, acquire unique comparative advantages to improve their investment prospects. The gradual development and transformation of intercompany networks in the clusters is attended by the formation of territorial communities. These communities are defined as areas with unique parameters. The areas distinguished in the paper are divided in (1) commodity areas, (2) areas gravitating to R&D, certification, and sales centers, and (3) areas with trading specialization. Commodity areas are located mainly in agrarian regions, the spatial structure of such areas is formed by SMEs which have a long tradition of producing perfumery and cosmetic goods and are often represented by family businesses. The clusterizing of areas gravitating to R&D, certification, and sales centers is determined by the nature of perfumery and cosmetic products and the research intensity of the beauty and personal care industry. The formation of areas with trading specialization is determined by a beneficial geographical location and a certain set of location conditions (with business activities playing an important role) that ensure flexible value chain. The areas of this type are located mainly in emerging economies and are beginning to acquire features that make them similar to the second type areas located in developed economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]