200 million yuan, whitening serum recommendation! When L'Oreal recently announced that it had invested a huge amount of capital to transform its Tianmei factory in Yichang, Hubei into the largest makeup production base in Asia, it indeed shocked the market. "We have a very clear strategy in China, which is to focus on developing the potential of China's makeup market," said L'Oreal (China) CEO Alexander Liberman with a clear purpose.
Foreign brands are fiercely competing. "Currently, in the United States, each person uses an average of three makeup products per year, while in France, the number is two. In China, this figure is less than one, indicating great potential," interpreted Liberman about China's makeup market.
However, L'Oreal is not the only one eyeing this market. Procter & Gamble introduced two makeup brands, CoverGirl and Max Factor, in March 2005, and simultaneously expanded Olay from skincare to makeup. Additionally, Estée Lauder, Shiseido, Anna Sui, and others have also accelerated their entry into department stores in the past five years.
Industry expert Xiao Yong pointed out as early as the first half of this year that international cosmetics giants are expanding their strategic focus from China's skincare market to the makeup market. A new wave of competition among high-end cosmetic brands has already begun.
It is not easy for domestic brands to break through under the "siege" of L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble. "International giants put great pressure on domestic brands," said an insider who wished to remain anonymous, "it is difficult for domestic brands to enter large department stores."
Unable to reach the high-end threshold, domestic ethnic brands can only retreat and focus primarily on supermarkets or hypermarkets. Mao Ge Ping, Caziel, and Chaudison are considered "followers" closely trailing behind foreign brands.
"Venture capital has already been injected into domestic ethnic brands," revealed an insider from the daily chemical industry. These local brands will undoubtedly have a certain impact on the overall structure of the makeup market.