Benefit Cosmetics will no longer be available on Tmall, JD.com or Douyin, three of China’s most popular e-commerce platforms.
The line will still be available at Sephora, also owned by LVMH, which has over 322 brick-and-mortar stores across 88 cities in China. Benefit Cosmetics is best known for its selection of eyebrow and mascara products, in-store services such as brow shaping, and playful, kitsch branding which has persisted since the brand’s founding in 1976.
In a statement to local press, Benefit Cosmetics said the move was part of readjustment of “the scale of business and development focus in mainland China”. Benefit Cosmetics has almost 2.5 million followers across Tmall, JD.com and Douyin, and the three platforms are central to young consumers’ shopping habits.
While China is the world’s second largest beauty market after the US, gaining lasting traction is difficult. The Chinese market has been a persistent drag for Estée Lauder Companies post-pandemic recovery, and Japanese-owned Shiseido’s brands have been subject to a local boycott, as consumers spurn products they believe to be negatively implicated in the release of treated water in Fukushima.
International brands are also up against increasingly popular local players, many of whom offer lower price points and trendier products than their Western counterparts.
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As global brands face headwinds in China, L’Oréal and Shiseido are betting on new investment funds targeting C-beauty companies to sustain growth.
Disclosure: LVMH is part of a group of investors who, together, hold a minority interest in The Business of Fashion. All investors have signed shareholders’ documentation guaranteeing BoF’s complete editorial independence.
