DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Thursday, June 17, 2021 | 15 BUSINESSFOCUS Domestic looking pretty overseas Improved quality, brand cachet, e-commerce all contributing to more global sales

By ZHENG YIRAN [email protected]

For years, cosmetics brands from Europe, the United States and have dominated the global market. But the growing cachet and volume of homegrown Chinese lip- sticks, eyeliners and face blushes — becoming more popular among Chinese consumers — are also gain- ing momentum from consumers overseas, boosted by rising internet retailing and youth trends. Data from the General Adminis- tration of Customs showed that in the first three quarters of last year, China exported $3.14 billion worth of cosmetics, far exceeding the export value of both 2018 and 2019, which was $2.5 billion and $2.77 bil- lion, respectively. According to a report jointly released by research firm CBNData and Alibaba’s Tmall, during last year’s Double Eleven shopping spree in November, Chinese cos- metics sold on Tmall’s international platform surged over 10 fold year- on-year. Wu Daiqi, CEO of Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based Keythink Culture Communication Visitors check out cosmetics at a Perfect Diary store in Shanghai on April 15, 2020. provided to china daily Co Ltd, said, “International con- sumers are now showing a growing interest in traditional Chinese cul- By the end of this year, Zeesea that red bean and rosy pink were ture, and Chinese cosmetics brands $4.24 plans to have 7,000 brick-and-mor- the hottest-selling colors for its lip- are set to leverage this interests.” billion tar stores in Japan, the company sticks. In addition to cultural factors, total value of cosmetics and toi- told Jiemian. “Based on local needs, we China’s homegrown cosmetics letries exported by China last To better tap into overseas mar- upgrade our products. For exam- brands have formed relatively year, according to research firm kets, Chinese cosmetics brands ple, the tropical weather in South- mature industrial chains and culti- AskCI Consulting have made needed adjustments. east Asia requires higher makeup vated an increasing number of sec- For example, Florasis’ hottest- retention capacity. As a result, we tor professionals, Wu said. selling lipstick color in the Chinese pay more attention to the oil con- According to Shenzhen-based enter European and US markets. market is bright red, while in trol function of the facial powder research firm AskCI Consulting, In addition, the company said Japan, favored shades are maple launched in the local markets,” said 2020 exports of China’s cosmetics that prior to entering the Japanese leaf red, peach pink and berry red. an executive from the overseas and toiletries totaled 999,019 met- market, some of its products were In terms of pricing, according to business department of Yatsen, ric tons, up 4.3 percent year-on- already attracting great attention. Florasis, its overseas price is 1.7 who declined to be named. year, with an export value of $4.24 Its West Lake-themed cosmetics times that seen for the same prod- Hu Qimu, a senior researcher at billion. gift box was well received in Japan, ucts in China after considering tar- the China Digital Economy Insti- Among exported cosmetics, lip- appearing among hot topics on Jap- iff, logistics costs, overseas services tute, said that the next three to five sticks, eye shadow and blushes anese Twitter. and operations. years will see great potential for were the bestsellers, while mascara A cosmetics gift box decorated “In terms of quality, formula, Chinese cosmetics brands to and facial powder showed great with Miao ethnic group elements design, innovation and value, we expand overseas. sales potential, said the report from was also a hot seller. The overseas are no different from our interna- Huang Tao, an independent AskCI. A booth of Chinese cosmetics brand Florasis at the China Brand Day shopping price for the box ranged tional peers,” said a spokesperson expert in public relations, said, “To “In recent years, several local show in Shanghai on May 11. provided to china daily from 900 yuan ($140.6) to 2,000 for Florasis, who declined to be be deeply immersed in overseas brands have emerged,” said Wu yuan. named. markets, homegrown brands Rong, a cosmetics expert at Chinese In terms of its overseas distribu- “Affordability is no longer the should maintain core competitive- news portal Jiemian. east Asian market. In 2020, Per- cosmetics sales in both Singapo- tion channel, Florasis took advan- only tag of Chinese cosmetics ness with independent supply “The development of China’s fect Diary teamed up with Sen- re and Malaysia, and sales of its tage of Tmall’s international brands. Creativity and originality chains to improve product quality.” cross-border e-commerce and logis- sient Technologies Corp — a face powder ranked tops in the platform. Meanwhile, Perfect Dia- are why we thrive and continue to Huang added that: “In the pro- tics sectors, as well as the fact that provider of coloring products to Philippines. ry and Colorkey, another Guang- win our customers,” said the cess of globalization, they should China has recovered relatively the pharmaceutical, cosmetics Meanwhile, Hangzhou, Zhe-­ zhou-based cosmetics brand, spokesperson of Florasis. carefully study the consumption quickly from the COVID-19 pan- and personal care industries — to jiang province-based Florasis entered Southeast Asia through Perfect Diary is also stepping up habits of local users, constantly demic, also put domestic cosmetics establish a cosmetics laboratory chose Japan as its first overseas Shopee. efforts in localizing products over- sum up experiences, and adjust brands in an advantageous position in Singapore, and launched an stop. Offline distribution channels are seas. According to the overseas and diversify product portfolios. in the global market,” Wu said. overseas version of its official The company said that Japan and also favored. In 2018, Shanghai- business department of Yatsen “Chinese brands should pay Chinese homegrown cosmetics website. China both belong to the same Asian based Marie Dalgar entered Thai- Holding Ltd — its parent company attention to international commu- brands have developed various over- Perfect Diary’s business proved cultural community, and share land, Malaysia and Singapore — Perfect Diary launched a cross- nication and build global brand seas markets and set up preferential to be a success in Southeast Asia. strong cultural and aesthetic traits. through offline cosmetics store branded cosmetics series with San- power,” said Huang. distribution channels, Wu added. In May, on Shopee, the largest Meanwhile, Japan encompasses . Guangzhou-based Zeesea rio, a popular intellectual property “To tell a good story, it is key to For example, Guangzhou-based e-commerce platform in South- both Eastern and Western culture, entered Japan through Matsukiyo brand in Southeast Asia. create localized communication cosmetics brand Perfect Diary is east Asia, it topped beauty prod- and the Japanese market can serve — the largest cosmeceuticals chain In addition, in the Southeast content on digital platforms, such putting extra focus on the South- uct sales in Vietnam and as a touchstone for the company to store in the country. Asian market, Perfect Diary found as videos and livestreaming.” Coty smells fragrant success in China, with additional stores, digitalization

By SHI JING in Shanghai Guilhem Souche said the company’s Gucci beauty stores in China selling [email protected] quick recovery since mid-2020 — rel- the luxury brand’s cosmetics and atively unaffected by the COVID-19 perfumes, Coty managed to open Multinational fragrance and cos- pandemic — can be largely attributa- 25 Gucci beauty shops in the coun- metics brand Coty aims to build Chi- ble to the stable business environ- try within two years. na into a major powerhouse by ment. For Burberry, another luxury tripling its sales in the market by With effective government con- beauty brand in Coty’s portfolio, the 2025 backed by ongoing innovation trols, businesses were back on the number of physical stores in China in retailing models and a favorable right track in China sooner than has risen to 40 at present. business environment, said the com- many other markets. This is also While most physical stores are pany’s top management. the reason Coty saw strong growth located in first-tier cities, e-com- Coty, which owns a beauty portfo- in China since mid-2020, especially merce is also important to increase lio of fragrances, cosmetics and skin in the luxury beauty sector, Souche Coty’s geographical reach in areas care brands such as Gucci, Burberry said. without a physical presence. and Max Factor, began operating The company will further “If you want to succeed in China, independently in China in 2016. strengthen its presence in China by you must provide a seamless experi- The group’s latest fiscal report opening more physical stores, he ence for your customers,” Souche released last month showed China said. The flagship store for scientif- said. Consumers shop at a Gucci beauty store in a department store in downtown Shanghai on June 11. sales revenue rose by double to triple ic skin care brand Lancaster The company sped up its digitali- provided to china daily digits during fiscal years 2019 and planned to open its doors in June in zation in China, especially after the 2020. Sanya, Hainan province, is on pandemic broke out. Over the past According to the company’s long- schedule. One month earlier, Coty 12 months, Coty managed to open make up half of total sales revenue in and has been rolled out in the rest of rely on their own modalities to build term strategy released in late April, opened a Gucci duty-free beauty Burberry and Gucci beauty flagship three years in the country. the world,” he said. digital capacity from scratch. Coty aims to triple sales revenue in shop in Hainan.­ stores on Tmall, as well as a flagship “China is one of the most tech-sav- Market consultancy Bain & Co Cooperation will become increas- China by 2025 so that the country The acceleration in introducing store for Calvin Klein fragrance on vy and customer-oriented markets wrote in a report released in late Feb- ingly urgent, said the report. Mean- will account for 10 percent of its total brick-and-mortar stores in China is JD. in the world. It has become an exam- ruary that the accelerated integra- while, online platforms are actively global annual income by then. part of the shift that Coty started in Online distribution channels ple for other markets in terms of tion of online and offline retailing seeking cooperation with offline At present, China’s contribution to 2019 by transitioning from a full account for one third of Coty China’s retailtainment, customer services will be one of the 10 major trends in retailers to strengthen their capabil- group sales is in the low single digits. wholesale to a retail model. income at present. Souche said it is and innovation. Livestreaming, for China this year. Offline retailers will ity in local supply and offline Coty China Managing Director For example, while there were no quite normal for online channels to example, is a model born in China find it extremely difficult to totally resource distribution.