Maybelline to shut all stores in China

(Source: Bigstock)

L’Oreal-owned beauty brand Maybelline is set to gradually close all of its physical stores in China, according to local media. 

However, the brand will retain its online presence in the market, along with counters within Watsons stores. 

Maybelline New York team told local media the company has been implementing a “strategic transformation” of traditional offline channels since 2020 to “achieve online and offline integration”. 

The brand entered China in 1997 before being acquired by L’Oreal in 1996. In 2018, it withdrew from hypermarket channels, including Carrefour and Walmart, and it exited department stores two years later to move its focus to shopping malls and mono-brand stores in commercial districts. Since then, the company has lost its influence in one of the world’s toughest beauty markets. 

According to Qianzhan Industry Research Institute, the brand’s market share in China drop to 4.9 per cent last year, loosing 5.8 per cent compared to 2018. China’s cosmetic market was valued at US$67.47 billion and is expected to reach $76.6 billion next year, according to Statista. 

While Maybelline is gradually removing its physical presence in the market, its sister brand Carita earlier this year made its China debut, opening stores and counters in Nanjing Deji Plaza and Beijing SKP. 

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