US cosmetics brand E.L.F is set to exit China after more than four years of operation, joining Revlon to withdraw from the market this March, according to WWD.
The brand said on its social platforms it will close the Tmall and Douyin flagship store on March 15 and exit the market by the end of the month, due to “global strategy adjustments and other objective factors”.
E.L.F made its debut in 2018 by launching on Tmall, before selling on Douyin and VIP.com. Nevertheless, the beauty brand failed to capture the market due to the fierce competition with domestic beauty brands.
Beauty site Chaileedo said E.L.F posted a 49 per cent growth in net sales for the third quarter of the current fiscal year, reaching US$146.5 million yet experiencing poor performance in China.
E.L.F is not the first mid-end beauty brand to cease its business in the market. Revlon said last week it would close its Tmall flagship store in March 15, two years after re-entering the market. Middle East-born cosmetic brand Huda Beauty also recently closed its flagship store on the Chinese e-commerce platform, plotting its withdrawal from the country.
During the past year, the Chinese market has lost a series of international cosmetic brands, including L’Oreal-owned Maybelline, South Korea’s Etude House and Hera.
Data and analytics company GlobalData estimates the Chinese make-up market will reach $11.7 billion by 2026, registering a compound annual growth rate of 7.4 per cent.
Bobby Verghese, a consumer analyst at GlobalData, said the strict lockdowns had disrupted the distribution of cosmetics products and triggered a loss of income, thereby stifling overall consumer spending on beauty products.
