Foreign Brands’ China Stories: L’Oreal’s changes go more than skin-deep

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The China International Import Expo comes at a time when the consumption needs of the Chinese consumer are evolving rapidly. Let's zoom in on the cosmetics industry and take a closer look at how one company made a massive footprint in the Chinese market.

39-year-old Ye Di remembers the highlight of her high school days vividly. Her first perfume.

DI COSMETICS CONSUMER "I knew the perfume from a fashion magazine, and fell in love with it. It was expensive in those days, so I saved my money, lingered around the counter many times and finally bought it. It was the smell of happiness."

The generation x-er has only known a reformed, opened up China. She and millions of others have benefited from the nation's economic growth and consumption upgrades.

Beauty giant L'Oreal is a big part of these changes. Starting from scratch in China 21 years ago, it has become the number one beauty player nationally, and L'Oreal China is the group's number 2 subsidiary worldwide.

STEPHANE RINDERKNECH, CEO L'OREAL CHINA "We've witnessed many changes in this market in the past 21 years. Of course at the beginning, it was all about the speed of growth. And then as China grew bigger, it became about scale and speed together. And now we go even further than that, China is all about innovation."

As Chinese consumers get more sophisticated and demanding, the group continuously brings new brands and products to China, many of which are developed exclusively for the Chinese market.

ZHANG YAN COSMETICS CONSUMER "I've been using Yuesai for two years, I like its concept of using traditional Chinese medicine and I think it is more natural."

The digital trend in China has revolutionized the retail industry, and the beauty market is no exception.

JIAO QIAN COSMETICS CONSUMER "I tend to buy beauty products online, because I'm always busy at work. Beauty shops have to offer a different offline retail experience and more professional service to attract us."

L'Oreal China has worked closely with e-commerce giants, such as Alibaba and JD.com, and garnered strong online sales figures. Its digital strategy combined with offline retail experiences in China has also inspired the group.

STEPHANE RINDERKNECH, CEO L'OREAL CHINA "We are learning from China. We are learning about the digital revolution, we are learning about the e-commerce. We are learning about this famous new retail offline+online together which China has invented and China is leading as well."

L'Oreal says China's further reform and opening up will build a better and healthier business environment, ushering in a new golden age of beauty for the company.