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Cha Ling shutters physical China stores

Skincare brand Cha Ling has shuttered its stores in China, according local media, after Covid-19-related disruptions.

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According to Jiemian News, Cha Ling stated that the store shift is part of the luxury skincare brand’s operation plan.

It will continue to retail via Sephora as an exclusive brand in China.

The LVMH-owned Cha Ling closed its Shanghai HKRI Taikoo Hu store this June as the city emerged from a two-month lockdown. The store closure was aimed at “optimizing the brand’s retail strategy,” according to Cha Ling’s official WeChat account.

Cha Ling’s Pudong and Hangzhou stores have also closed in recent years.

In addition to its brick-and-mortar store closures, Cha Ling has closed its WeChat Mini Program store. It currently operates an official Tmall store in China.

Founded in 2016 by Laurent Boillot, who was Guerlain’s chief executive officer and is currently the chief executive officer of Maison Hennessy, Cha Ling is a luxury skincare brand combines traditional Asian ingredients with western skin care formulations.

After launching at Le Bon Marché in 2016, Cha Ling expanded to Hong Kong and mainland China in 2017. Cha Ling went on to open three stores in Chinese shopping malls, including Shanghai HKRI Taikoo Hui, Shanghai IFC, and Hangzhou’s MixC Mall.

In Hong Kong, Cha Ling also opened physical stores in Harbour City, Pacific Place, Hysan Place and K11 Musea.

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For the first nine months of the year, LVMH said its perfumes and cosmetics business recorded the smallest growth, compared to other businesses in the group, up 19 percent, in relation to 2021, to EUR 4.7 billion (USD 4.94 billion).

LVMH does not give specific sales figures for each brand.