Alibaba’s Tmall said it expects international and domestic cosmetics brands to open 1,000 shops this year to meet burgeoning demand from Chinese consumers.
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At its annual beauty summit, Tmall announced that seven international cosmetics companies, Tom Ford, Glamglow, P&G’s new beauty line Oriental Therapy, Cosme and d-program from Japan, Primera from Korea and Barnängen from Sweden, have signed agreements to open flagship stores on Tmall this year.
Another five beauty companies, including Maybelline, Kiehl’s, Innisfree from Korea and domestic brand WINONA, signed New Retail partnerships with Tmall during the summit, giving them a complete view of their customer base by integrating insights from digitized offline promotion activities and storefront information with online information.
Catering to the needs of shoppers who want to enjoy a variety of Korean beauty products, the Korean Small & Medium Business Corp. (SBC) announced at the Tmall
Beauty Summit that it plans to launch a flagship store to house 50 niche Korean brands.
The store openings and Tmall’s target to open 1,000 new cosmetics stores with brands are part of its drive to cement itself as the platform of choice for beauty brands to connect with Chinese shoppers.
With Alibaba’s extensive reach of nearly 700 million customers in China, its strong technical support and in-depth market knowledge, Tmall has become the most effective platform for brands to manage the entire customer journey from product discovery, awareness building, engagement, transaction and delivery, to after-sales services, and offers consumers a seamless experience, both online and offline.
“We are honored to be trusted by 180,000 brands on our platform, empowering them
to accelerate their digital transformation and grow their business in China. 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,” said Jet Jing,
President of Tmall.
Tmall’s sales of beauty products jumped over 60% last year, surpassing the industry’s
average growth rate. Online sales of cosmetics, skincare and personal care products
grew 46%, 40%, and 37% in China in 2018, respectively, which was also ahead of the
whole fast-moving consumer goods sector average of 34%, according to a report jointly
released by Tmall and retail market research firm Kantar during the summit.
The report also highlighted untapped potential in Generation Z. Aged between 15 to
19 years old, Generation Z female consumers are newcomers to the beauty market
and are willing to spend more on high-end lipsticks than women in other age groups,
representing an opportunity for cosmetics companies.
SEE ALSO : Is Generation Z truly different?
Tmall offers beauty brands an unparalleled edge in the launch of new products, including consumer insights based on data analytics, using livestreaming to enhance
shopping experiences and exclusive online offers, as well as leveraging offline and
online integrated channels to provide customers with personalized shopping
experiences.
In 2018, some 80% of Tmall brands chose the marketplace to launch new products,
proof of the platform’s ability to identify new markets and demand. For example, two
new emerging domestic beauty brands – Perfect Diary and Home Facial Pro – were
among more than 30 beauty and personal care brands whose sales topped RMB100
million at the 2018 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, due largely to Tmall’s robust
offerings.
SEE ALSO : Valentino joins Tmall Luxury Pavilion
Also at the summit, Tmall showcased a one-stop solution, the Alibaba Business
Operating System, as part of a new effort to help beauty brands succeed in China. The
Alibaba Business Operating System, officially unveiled by the group in January, is a
one-stop solution that helps brands digitally transform themselves in sales, logistics
and supply-chain management, payment, marketing, cloud computing and other
supporting services.