The Hong Kong beauty and personal care industry has been stagnating over the past year, according to research company Euromonitor, mainly because of the “major negative impact” of the fall in tourism and related spending by visitors from mainland China.
“The image of Hong Kong as a shopping paradise has diminished in recent years, with many mainland Chinese seeing Hong Kong as a place of political instability,” say the company’s analysts.
Brands performing well in the sector are those that meet local demand for mass products, along with smaller, more niche brands.
Hong Kong consumers particularly like Japanese, Korean and Western products, says the Euromonitor report, noting that well-­established product lines tend to be most trusted. Shoppers are also looking for innovation, particularly in the masstige tier (goods perceived to have prestige or high style but affordable for a wide range of customers).
“Brands often introduce innovative products first in Hong Kong as a testing ground for the Asian market,” says the report. “Retailers have introduced a variety of mass beauty products to keep the market competitive and to offset the negative impacts in the market.”
Along with masstige, K­beauty is the other key area singled out by Euromonitor for steady sales growth.