China Business Daily (Reporter Ma Jia) There are more and more players entering the Chinese cosmetics market, and many overseas niche cosmetics brands are eager to show their skills in the Chinese market. There are more than ten overseas brands among the "fallen" cosmetic brands, which is much higher than that of domestic brands.
On this track, foreign monks are not good at reciting scriptures.
Some overseas cosmetic brands withdraw from the Chinese market
Closing stores, clearing warehouses, withdrawing... Some overseas cosmetic brands are cold in the Chinese market.
At the beginning of 2022, Innisfree, a brand under the Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific, launched a “great retreat” in the Chinese market to close stores and clear warehouses.
In 2021, the number of overseas cosmetics brands that have withdrawn from the Chinese market is significantly higher than in previous years. For example, Unilever's "Korean makeup" light luxury skin care brand K-BRIGHT Coperion stopped operations, started clearance, and completely withdrawn from the Chinese market; Shiseido 45 100 million yuan to sell three make-up brands that it previously spent more than 12 billion yuan to acquire.
It is worth noting that some overseas niche cosmetic brands entering the Chinese market will fail in 2021.
According to incomplete statistics by a reporter from China Business Daily, more than ten overseas niche cosmetic brands have closed their online flagship stores in the Chinese market, including Sarah Chapman, the favorite high-end brand of "Beisao".
"2020 is a year of rapid development of beauty cross-border e-commerce. It is very common for well-known e-commerce channels to introduce hundreds of overseas brands within six months." Kong Sihan, a beauty marketing practitioner, told a reporter from China Business Daily that overseas stars, Cosmetics brands founded by beauty experts or lesser-known overseas cosmetic brands use e-commerce channels such as Tmall as their first choice to enter the Chinese market.
The fact that some overseas cosmetic brands have withdrawn from the Chinese market may reflect that consumers' enthusiasm for imported cosmetics is declining.
The relevant person in charge of Hangzhou Xinziyang Technology Co., Ltd. engaged in the agency work of imported cosmetics told the reporter of China Business Daily that consumers do have a certain attitude towards imported cosmetics at first. They will find purchasing agents and ask friends to buy imported cosmetics. Imported cosmetics brands that have not opened up sales overseas have also taken a fancy to the consumption potential of the Chinese market.
But in the Chinese cosmetics market, the renewal of brands is too fast.
In terms of category and efficacy, from concept to efficacy, the creativity of cutting-edge domestic brands has overwhelmed consumers; in terms of marketing, domestic brands understand the marketing skills of domestic new media better than overseas cosmetic brands.
It is also expected that imported cosmetics are "cold".
Reshuffle intensifies under strict supervision
Since the implementation of the new version of the "Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics" in 2021, overseas cosmetic brands may need to make more preparations to enter the Chinese market.
Industry insiders generally believe that some imported cosmetics will be eliminated from the domestic market, and overseas cosmetics brands will need to spend higher costs to enter the Chinese market.
At the beginning of 2022, overseas cosmetic brands will frequently "eat fines" in the Chinese market.
Gucci (China) Trading Co., Ltd. Ningbo No. 3 Branch was fined 12,000 yuan accumulatively for violating cosmetics management regulations, because a bottle of its perfume products did not have a Chinese label; the sunscreen gel skin-friendly products of Anger Saberen were also fined for violating cosmetics management regulations. There was no Chinese label on the package, and the responsible person was fined 10,000 yuan.
According to Article 35 of the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics, the smallest sales unit of cosmetics should have labels.
The newly promulgated "Cosmetics Labeling Management Measures" also stipulates that small-sized packaged products with a net content of no more than 15 grams or 15 ml should be marked with the Chinese name of the product, ingredients, net content and expiration date.
For products with packaging boxes, the Chinese name and expiry date of the product should also be marked on the packaging container that directly contacts the contents.
The relevant person in charge of Shanghai Baoshi Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. told the reporter of China Business Daily that the outer packaging of imported cosmetics is in English, and the manufacturers who do business generally only paste the Chinese name.
Translating and labeling all the ingredients is a lot of work. In addition, some of the formulas of imported cosmetics are also kept secret, and it is almost impossible to label all the ingredients.
These products that cannot be implemented in accordance with the requirements and regulations will be withdrawn from the Chinese market or eliminated.
"Effectiveness evaluation, re-labeling, changing slogans, etc., all increase the cost of enterprises. Overseas niche cosmetic brands themselves rely on the preferential policies given by e-commerce platforms to enter the Chinese market. If the supervision becomes stricter, it may be partially burdened. Companies that can’t afford these costs will choose to withdraw from the Chinese market. After all, the Chinese market is not the core market for these brands, and the brands also have a mentality to test the water, with poor performance and excessive pressure, so it is reasonable to retreat.” Kong Sihan Express.
"From the perspective of agency, the current trend is to help domestic cosmetics brands in overseas markets." A relevant person in charge of cosmetics agency business admitted that more domestic cosmetics brands want to sell overseas, because in overseas markets, Products can be sold quickly through OEM.
At present, the development of domestic cosmetic brands in overseas markets is similar to that of overseas cosmetic brands in the Chinese market a few years ago.
Foreign monks are not good at reciting sutras
In the future, the competition between overseas cosmetic brands and traditional domestic cosmetic brands and emerging domestic cosmetic brands may become increasingly fierce.
iiMedia Research analyst Wang Qinglin told a reporter from China Business Daily that from the perspective of the cosmetics market, China is currently one of the world's largest and most highly accepted mid-to-high-end brands, and one of the important markets that continues to grow.
With the rise of the "face value economy", the demand for beauty and skin care products in the Chinese market has grown steadily.
"Today, if you don't have a solid Chinese market, you can't become a successful international brand." Sarah Krall, co-founder and CEO of Victoria Beckham Beauty, expressed her expectations for developing the Chinese market in an interview with overseas media.
"But at present, imported cosmetics are less expensive in the domestic market, and the polarization is very serious. In terms of price, new domestic cosmetics are of high quality and low price. At every price point, consumers can find products that meet their skin type and requirements. In terms of products, from appearance to efficacy, domestic cosmetics have played new tricks. The advantages of well-known imported cosmetics are in the high-end market, but the crowd who can afford high-end consumer goods is very fixed. For domestic cosmetics brands, the potential There are many consumers who can be developed. But for overseas niche cosmetic brands, they are facing an embarrassing situation in terms of popularity and cost performance. In addition, with the increasing requirements for imported cosmetics in the relevant regulations in the future, entering China The number of brands in the market may also decrease." Kong Sihan said.
For consumers, the clearance sale before the store closes may become the "last spree" left by those brands that exit.
Some brands have put up a slogan of "20% off clearance sale" in their overseas flagship stores, which has also attracted some consumers to snap up.
However, a consumer left a message saying: "I took advantage of the clearance to buy some cheap products, and I placed an order. The results were not as good as the products I bought before. Suddenly I still think that the domestic brands are better."