Alibaba expects international and domestic cosmetics brands to open 1,000 stores this year on its Tmall platform to meet demand from Chinese consumers.
Seven international cosmetics companies, Tom Ford, Glamglow, P&G’s new beauty line Oriental Therapy, Cosme and d-program from Japan, Primera from Korea and Barnängen from Sweden, have signed agreements to launch flagship stores on Tmall this year at Tmall’s annual beauty summit.
Related: Tmall and JD had a combined market share of over 85% in China’s B2C e-commerce market in Q4 2018
Another five beauty companies signed New Retail partnerships with Tmall during the summit, including Maybelline, Kiehl’s, Innisfree from Korea and domestic brand WINONA. It gives them a complete view of their customer base by integrating insights from digitized offline promotion activities and storefront information with online information.
Catering to the needs of shoppers who want to enjoy a variety of Korean beauty products, the Korean Small & Medium Business Corp. (SBC) announced at the Tmall Beauty Summit that it plans to launch a flagship store to house 50 niche Korean brands.
The store openings and Tmall’s target to open 1,000 new cosmetics stores with brands are part of its drive to cement itself as the platform of choice for beauty brands to connect with Chinese shoppers.
With Alibaba’s extensive reach of nearly 700 million customers in China, its strong technical support and in-depth market knowledge, Tmall has become the most-effective platform for brands to manage the entire customer journey from product discovery, awareness building, engagement, transaction and delivery, to after-sales services, and offers consumers a seamless experience, both online and offline. Tmall physical goods GMV grew 29% year-over-year in Q4 2018.
We are honored to be trusted by 180,000 brands on our platform, empowering them to accelerate their digital transformation and grow their business in China. As China continues its consumption upgrade, more and more people from different age groups and geographic locations are willing to spend on high-quality beauty products. We are looking forward to working with more brands to address the opportunity
said Jet Jing, President of Tmall.
Tmall’s sales of beauty products jumped over 60% last year, surpassing the industry’s average growth rate. Online sales of cosmetics and personal care products grew 37% and 36% in China in 2018, respectively, which was also ahead of the whole fast-moving consumer goods sector average of 32%, according to a report jointly released by Tmall and retail market research firm Kantar during the summit.
The report also highlighted untapped potential in Generation Z. Aged between 15 to 19 years old, Generation Z female consumers are newcomers to the beauty market and are willing to spend more on high-end lipsticks than women in other age groups, representing an opportunity for cosmetics companies.
Tmall offers beauty brands an unparalleled edge in the launch of new products, including consumer insights based on data analytics, using live streaming to enhance shopping experiences and exclusive online offers, as well as leveraging offline and online integrated channels to provide customers with personalized shopping experiences.
In 2018, some 80% of Tmall brands chose the marketplace to launch new products, proof of the platform’s ability to identify new markets and demand. For example, two new emerging domestic beauty brands – Perfect Diary and Home Facial Pro – were among more than 30 beauty and personal care brands whose sales topped RMB100 million at the 2018 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, due largely to Tmall’s robust offerings. Check out Double 11 statistics of top retailers & top 50 Tmall stores in 2018 here.
Also at the summit, Tmall showcased a one-stop solution, the Alibaba Business Operating System, as part of a new effort to help beauty brands succeed in China. The Alibaba Business Operating System, officially unveiled by the group in January, is a one-stop solution that helps brands digitally transform themselves in sales, logistics and supply chain management, payment, marketing, cloud computing, and other supporting services.
Alibaba’s Tmall also announced plans earlier this year to incubate 100 new products for 10 billion yuan GMV in 2019.