Almost three-quarters of Germans say they feel this way, compared to three in five British, 45 per cent of French and just over one in four (28 per cent) Spanish adults.
The Germans are also the most likely to say that they like people tolook at them. Well over half (56 per cent) of German adults said this, while only around two in five (39 per cent) French adults and just one in four British and Spanish adults feel this way.
In general, a considerable proportion of European adults use productsthat keep their skin young and supple. Again it is the Germans who arethe most likely to do so, as some 46 per cent claimed to do so. Over one inthree (35 per cent) in France, almost three in ten (29 per cent) in Great Britain andone in five (20 per cent) adults in Spain use these kinds of product.
What is more, the Germans are also the most likely to want really goodquality toiletries, with almost three in five (58 per cent) saying that this isimportant to them.
This has contributed to a booming German market - Western Europe's largest health and beauty market in 2003, worth almost 40 billion Euros. This is compared to 31 billion Euros in France, 19 billion Euros in the UK, 17 billion Euros in Italy and 16 billion Euros in Spain.
The smallest market is the Netherlands with a market size of some 7 billion Euros. But it is the Spanish market that grew the fastest between 1999 and 2003, having grown some 34 per cent during this period.
"As Europe's largest economy and most populous market it is no surprisethat Germany has the largest specialist health and beauty sector by somemargin, accounting for over 30 per cent of specialist sales generated by the sixcountries covered in this report. Despite the well documented problemsof the German economy in the past five years, the health and beautysector has outperformed the average collective growth of the six marketscovered between 1999 and 2003," said analyst Jenny Catlin.
Between 2004 and 2008 the Spanish market looks set to continue to growat the fastest rate, from 17 billion Euros in 2004 to 22 billion Eurosin 2008. This is a growth rate of some 28 per cent. While at the other end ofthe spectrum, Italy is expected to grow by under 5 per cent over the sameperiod.
"Mintel expects Spain's health and beauty sector to outpace the growthof the other five countries. In part this reflects above averageforecast growth for all retail sales. In 2003 real economic growth waslow by Spain's recent standards, but remained the highest of the largerEU economies. As the global economy recovers, Spain is expected to growfaster in 2004 and 2005," said Catlin.
But in sales terms, UK retailer Boots has managed to maintain its position as Europe's leading health and beauty specialist. In 2003, Boots generated anadditional turnover of some 0.9 million Euros over the number twoplayer, Schlecker. AS Watson Europe, Celesio and dm-drogerie make up thetop five and the order has not changed over the past two years.
"Although Schlecker's like-for-like growth has come under pressure inits home market, the giant German drugstore operator has plans to expandin its existing overseas markets, plus it is looking to move into ahandful of Eastern Europe countries in 2004. By comparison, Boots'future expansion will remain modest despite accelerated development inthe short to medium-term," explained Catlin.