Tmall flags beauty boom in China

Joyce Abaño

5th Mar 2019

Alibaba’s Tmall is expecting international and local cosmetics brands to open 1000 shops on its platform this year.

Making the announcement at its annual beauty summit, the online marketplace said seven international cosmetics companies, including Tom Ford, Glamglow, P&G’s new beauty line Oriental Therapy, Cosme and d-program from Japan, primera from Korea and Barnangen from Sweden, had signed agreements to open flagship stores on the site.

It also announced new partnerships with five global beauty brands, including Maybelline, Kiehl’s, Innisfree from Korea and domestic brand Winona, and will provide them with more information about their customer base and enable them to combine offline promotion activities and storefront information with online information.

“We are honoured to be trusted by 180,000 brands on our platform, empowering them to accelerate their digital transformation and grow their business in China,” said Jet Jing, president of Tmall.

“As China continues its consumption upgrade, more and more people from different age groups and geographic locations are willing to spend on high-quality beauty products. We are looking forward to working with more brands to address the opportunity.”

Last year, Tmall posted a 60 per cent jump in sales of beauty products, surpassing the industry’s average growth rate.

Online sales of cosmetics, skincare and personal care products grew by 46 per cent, 40 per cent, and 37 per cent, respectively, in China in 2018, according to a report jointly released by Tmall and retail market research firm Kantar during the summit.

The report also revealed that Gen Z female consumers, aged between 15 and 19 years old, are newcomers to the beauty market and are willing to spend more on high-end lipsticks than women in other age groups.