The global medical aesthetics market is characterized by the presence of global, regional, and local vendors. The market is highly competitive with all players competing to gain market share. Intense competition, rapid advances in technology, frequent changes in government policies, and environmental regulations are key factors that confront market growth. The vendors compete based on cost, quality, and reliability. It is decisive for the vendors to provide cost-efficient and high-quality products, to survive and succeed in an intensely competitive and growing market environment.
The growth of market vendors is dependent on market conditions, government support, and industry development. Thus, vendors should focus on expanding geographically and improving their products. They primarily focus on the development of novel products. Although international players are dominating the market, regional, and foreign players with small market shares also have a presence. The international players may strengthen their presence worldwide through acquisitions during the forecast period. It has also been forecast that improvement of the global economic scenario combined with efforts to enhance infrastructure in emerging nations, is fueling the market growth, thereby making it an ideal time for new products and to increase the market share. Vendors with better technical and financial resources could develop innovative products. Therefore, vendors must develop new technologies and stay well-informed of emerging technologies that could affect the continuing competitiveness of their treatment lines in the market.
Some key players operating in this market are Allergan, Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGaA, Hologic, Inc., Syneron Medical Ltd, and Cutera.
Allergan is a global pharmaceutical company that holds 42.9% in the global medical aesthetics market. The company was established in 1948 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Allergan has a wind range of products which provides effective treatment for the central nervous system, eye care, medical aesthetics and dermatology, gastroenterology, women's health, urology, and anti-infective therapeutic categories.
Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGaA is a second-largest player in the market with a 6.4% market share in the global medical aesthetics market. The company was established in 1953 and headquartered in Frankfurt,Germany, and is a global aesthetic and neurotoxin company which has its research and development capabilities. The company operates in fields such as neurology, OTC medicine, dietary supplements, and skincare products. Furthermore, in August 2016, Merz acquired the aesthetics medical device company on light sciences. By this acquisition, the company established itself in the field of on-light science innovation technology and aimed to meet the needs of aesthetic practices that focus on energy-based devices.
Syneron Medical Ltd holds 3.6% market share in the global medical aesthetics market and mainly focuses on matured markets for revenue generation. The company offers medical devices for aesthetic procedures. Hologic Inc. (3.4%) and Cutera (1.6%) are also considered significant players in the medical aesthetics market.
Other companies include Lumenis, Galderma SA, Bausch Health, Anika Therapeutics Inc., and Alma Lasers.
Michael Porter’s five forces model gives a framework that models the global medical aesthetics market, which is influenced by five forces. The strategic business managers, trying to create an edge over competing firms in the global medical aesthetics market can utilize this model to comprehend better the industry connection in which the firm operates. The components of each of the forces and the degree or impact of each component in the context of the global medical aesthetics industry have been broken down and analyzed below.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The bargaining power of suppliers in the medical aesthetics market is moderate. In the global aesthetics industry, suppliers are raw materials manufacturers and Original Intermediate Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). The number of suppliers in the market is sufficiently high to provide plenty of options to the manufacturers for material sourcing which is required for the production of the various products, thus leaving suppliers with moderate bargaining power. Another factor affecting the bargaining power of suppliers is the supplier switching cost for buyers owing to the presence of a moderate number of raw material suppliers in the market. On the other hand, only a moderate number of viable raw material substitutes are available, which further boosts the bargaining power of suppliers in the market. Switching cost of these suppliers is high as the suppliers tend to enter long-term associations with the manufacturers.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
The bargaining power of buyers is low to moderate in the medical aesthetics market. Hospitals and cosmetic surgery clinics are the primary buyers in the market. The presence of buyers in the market is growing due to the increasing awareness of the benefits of aesthetic procedures, along with the rising number of various aesthetics procedures. The buyers of aesthetic products are moderately inclined towards branded products manufactured by renowned companies. Moreover, the buyers can exert moderate pressure on the manufacturers as there are many manufacturers that are present in the market. Also, some buyers are price-sensitive and might prefer less technologically advanced non-invasive procedures, thereby moderately affecting their bargaining power in the market.
Threat of New Entrants
The threat of new entrants is moderate in the global medical aesthetics market due to the development of the potential market. Any aesthetic manufacturing company trying to enter the market is required to accept and abide by the mandatory regulatory standards. This market is also characterized by a reasonable degree of brand loyalty, where establishing a brand name is difficult for new entrants. The rising awareness regarding the aesthetic procedures and its benefits among the patients pushes the currently established and other manufacturers to focus more toward the adoption of innovative technologies. There is a stronghold of the big companies in this market, which can make the entry of the new players challenging. Thus, the threat of new entrants in the market is moderate.
Threat of Substitutes
The threat of substitutes in the global medical aesthetics market is low to moderate. Substitutes pose a low to moderate threat in the global medical aesthetics market due to the low availability of alternative therapies present in the market. However, quality and trust issue for the dermal fillers and devices provided by the new players, and excellent service provided by the existing players may restrict the threat by the substitutes to an extent. Also, the low-medium degree of switching cost may minimize the threat of substitutes.
Intensity of Rivalry
The degree of competition in the global medical aesthetics market is moderate to high. The moderate degree of product differentiation among existing players increases the intensity of rivalry in the market. Companies involved in the medical aesthetics market are trying to develop cost-effective products to make product differentiation more affordable. To overcome the competition, players are engaged in developing a process to lower their manufacturing cost. Moreover, the players are also developing advanced techniques for differentiating their product from their rivals.
