A number of international beauty giants' brands will start the "rise and rise" mode after the year.
Recently, the surging news reporter visited and called a number of brand counters and found that some international beauty brands under the French L'Oreal Group and the American Estee Lauder Group have raised prices to varying degrees since February this year, and most products have generally increased in price from dozens of yuan to 100 yuan. Japan's Shiseido Group also announced on its official website in Japan that it will adjust the price of some products from mid-April this year.
A number of beauty groups and a number of brand counters told The Paper that for the group's unified price adjustment, the price adjustment is mainly a normal market strategy adjustment, and the price adjustment time is not fixed every year, taking into account various factors, including raw materials, operating costs and transportation and storage costs.
According to public information, L'Oréal Group of France has a history of more than 110 years, and its product matrix has 36 international brands, which has entered the Chinese mainland market for 27 years and has 31 brands in China; The Estee Lauder Group has a history of nearly 80 years, has more than 20 brands, and has been in China for more than 30 years; Shiseido Group has a history of more than 150 years, based in China for more than 40 years, operating 26 brands (including cross-border e-commerce) in China.
International beauty brands have raised prices since February: most products range from tens of yuan to 100 yuan, and some have risen by more than 40%.
According to the surging news reporter, the price adjustment of the brands of many international beauty groups from February this year is the unified price adjustment of the group, but it does not cover all the products of the brand. However, it should be noted that some brands will have different discount activities in different channels and different counters, and the final product transaction** will also have certain differences.
Specifically, in terms of L'Oreal Group's skin care brands, taking the Helena brand as an example, the price of "Green Treasure Bottle" essence (50ml) increased by 70 yuan from 1,680 yuan to 1,750 yuan, an increase of more than 4%. Taking the Kiehl's brand as an example, the counter of calendula toner (500ml) has increased from 610 yuan to 620 yuan from 610 yuan to 620 yuan. Taking the Biotherm brand as an example, the price of the Frozen Little Blue Bottle Essence (50ml) counter** increased by 360 yuan from 920 yuan to 1280 yuan, an increase of nearly 40%.
A number of counter sales of Helena and Kiehl's brands indicated that from February 1, 2024, the price of a number of products has been increased, and the group will issue a unified notice to adjust the price.
In terms of L'Oreal Group's makeup brands, taking Yves Saint Laurent YSL brand as an example, the price of the Goddess Foundation counter** increased by 30 yuan from 650 yuan to 680 yuan, an increase of nearly 5%. Taking the 3ce brand as an example, the price of the 12-color eyeshadow palette counter** increased from 309 yuan by 10 yuan to 319 yuan.
A number of YSL counter sales said that since the beginning of this year, almost all products have increased in price, ranging from five yuan to dozens of yuan, and even some products have increased by 150 yuan, "The price increase is a notice directly issued by the head office, usually each brand will have 1 to 2 price adjustments a year, which is a relatively normal adjustment." "There are 3ce counter sales said that in general, those who have not adjusted prices are older brands, and the new products "have increased in price".
In terms of the Estee Lauder Group, taking the Estee Lauder brand's small brown bottle eye cream (15ml) as an example, the price of the counter** increased by 15 yuan from 550 yuan to 565 yuan, an increase of nearly 3%. The price of collagen cream (75ml) increased by 50 yuan from 1080 yuan to 1130 yuan, an increase of nearly 5%. In the black diamond truffle series, water rose from 1,150 yuan to 1,180 yuan, cream rose from 2,980 yuan to 3,060 yuan, and essence rose from 1,980 yuan to 2,060 yuan, up 30 yuan, 80 yuan and 80 yuan respectively, an increase of nearly 3%, nearly 3% and more than 4%. However, the price increase of Estee Lauder Group's brands is on the high side of perfume products, taking the Tom Ford brand as an example, TF Lieye Luxury Black Perfume (100ml) has increased from 1350 yuan**600 yuan to 1950 yuan, an increase of more than 44%.
Estee Lauder customer service said that the price adjustment will start on February 19. There are also Estee Lauder counter sales said that the price increase belongs to the price adjustment at the group level, and the increase is generally about 50 yuan, which belongs to the normal price adjustment category twice a year.
Shiseido announced an adjustment notice on its official website in Japan in January this year, saying that due to the recent cost of raw materials, Shiseido will begin to adjust some products on April 16, 2024, with a total of 27 products on the adjustment product list. The surging news reporter combed through the previous announcement and found that the last Shiseido product price adjustment was on June 1, 2023, including 16 products.
Shiseido Japan official website price adjustment announcement.
The surging news reporter saw that the products involved in the price adjustment include sunscreen lotion, protective cream, cleanser, makeup remover, water lotion, essence, eye cream, face cream, ** and some men's skin care products. Among them, the price of some products has increased by up to 1,650 yen (nearly 80 yuan), and the price of some products has increased by up to more than 30%.
Shiseido Japan official website price adjustment announcement.
Will the price adjustment of the products displayed on Shiseido's Japanese official website affect the domestic **? As of press time, Shiseido Group has not responded to this. However, recently, the counter sales of many brands, including Shiseido, Key to Skin, Infusa, etc., have told the surging news reporter that there is no price increase at present, and products with higher sales volume basically never increase in price under normal circumstances, and in 2022, there will be a general sales volume of products** raised by dozens of yuan.
In addition to the price adjustment of the products of international makeup giants, luxury groups have also begun to take advantage of the price increase since February. The CHANEL beauty line will be adjusted across the board from February 20, among them, lipstick products** will increase by about 50 yuan, and high-end skin care products** will increase by about 500 yuan. Among them, LV's beauty brand Dior (Dior) has increased the price of lipstick counters from 380 yuan to 390 yuan from 380 yuan since February.
At the same time, the surging news reporter noticed that many consumers on the social ** platform have perceived the price increase trend of major brands. Some netizens publicly shared their tangled feelings on social **: "Should you exchange points now, or is it cost-effective to exchange them in May?" The price of the product has risen, and the exchange of points has to rise again, and I am struggling with whether to replace it now. Some people also said that "I can't accept the price adjustment", "the replacement core of the YSL powder cushion has increased again, and it has only been a few months since the last price increase", "I'm sad, I can't afford to use it in the future." Some people sighed, "I haven't bought it in the official *** for a long time, and it doesn't feel right when I pay. ”
Behind the price adjustment: due to comprehensive factors such as raw materials, it is a normal market strategy adjustment.
In the long run, beauty products generally only go up, not down. A number of counter sales of different brands told the surging news reporter that the price of brand products has been adjusted many times before, and normal brands have basically not reduced prices.
This time, the international big brands have adjusted their prices after the New Year, what is the intention? A number of beauty groups responded that the general price adjustment is mainly due to the adjustment of normal market strategies, taking into account various factors.
Among them, L'Oreal Group told the surging news reporter that the price adjustment is a normal market strategy adjustment. The counter sales of L'Oreal's brand YSL told The Paper that under normal circumstances, brands will closely follow the price increase trend of other brands every year, so the price adjustment time is not uniform every year. There are also 3CE counter sales said that there will be a unified national price adjustment every year, and the time is not fixed.
Estee Lauder customer service responded that the product pricing adjustment took into account various factors, including raw materials**, operating costs, and transportation and warehousing costs. The Estée Lauder Companies periodically evaluates the MSRP of products and makes adjustments to the MSRP of certain products as necessary. The Estée Lauder Companies has always been committed to providing the best quality products and services to Chinese consumers, and will continue to invest in product innovation and brand experience to meet consumers' beauty needs.
On February 23, Bai Yunhu, a cosmetics management expert and founder of Meiyun Space E-commerce, said in an interview with The Paper that the main reason for the international beauty brand is from two pressures. On the other hand, with the obvious "high-end trend" of domestic head brand products, international brands need to continue to maintain the "brand value distance" from domestic brands through the first promotion, so as to avoid the "transfer of purchase intention" of some consumer users.
In general, the frequency and timing of price increases are not fixed, but are determined by the changing needs of the market environment. The price adjustment is about a few tens of yuan, and the effect on the performance of international giant groups in the Chinese market will not be particularly obvious. Bai Yunhu further pointed out.
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In addition to inflation, it may also be related to the stability of the performance of the Chinese market, which has always had huge potential and has always been the focus of major groups.
Recently, L'Oreal, Estee Lauder, and Shiseido respectively disclosed their latest financial reports, and the global performance of each group is seriously differentiated. In China, L'Or Chinese mainland éal earned a 54% growth. Shiseido's net sales in China fell 4% year-on-year last year, and the impact of Japan's nuclear sewage incident is steadily receding, and sales in China are expected to grow by 5% this year. Estée Lauder's revenue in the Asia-Pacific region fell 8% year-on-year, and sales in China are expected to resume growth in the second half of fiscal 2024 (i.e., the first half of the calendar year 2024), and the group will continue to invest in the Chinese market.
For future development, a number of makeup giants emphasized in their financial reports that "winning in China", among which in terms of business transformation, Shiseido's financial report mentioned that it will reduce the number of official market channels and optimize the number of physical stores. The Estée Lauder Companies began implementing a profit recovery plan in fiscal year 2024, which includes a reduction of approximately 3 to 5% in positions worldwide. However, the group said that there are no major adjustment plans in the Chinese market, and the profit recovery plan will help empower the Chinese team to better adapt to the development of the Chinese market.
According to a report released by iiMedia Consulting in September last year, the current share of international high-end brand cosmetics is relatively high. From a geographical point of view, the market share of mid-to-high-end and above positioning products among international brands is increasing; From the perspective of categories, the market share of Volkswagen brand products has decreased significantly. In addition, according to data provided by management consulting firm McKinsey, from 2019 to the first half of 2023, among the top 20 brands in the Tmall** beauty category, the proportion of local brands has dropped from 54% in 2019 to 28% in 2022, and further decreased to 20% in the first half of 2023.
What is the impact of the price adjustment of high-end products of international beauty brands on the development of domestic brands? Bai Yunhu said that the core is that Chinese consumer users have higher and higher recognition of the value and quality of domestic brands; The price increase of international brands has limited impact on the market. At present, the development of the two systems of international brands and domestic brands can be understood as "self-contained systems" and "complementary to each other". In terms of the overall trend, the market independence of domestic brands will become stronger and stronger.
Bai Yunhu further pointed out that at present, the competitive environment of China's cosmetics market has undergone relatively large structural changes, and the proportion of domestic beauty brands continues to increase, and the future may be similar to other mature market patterns such as Europe, America, Japan and South Korea.
*: The Paper).
Editor: Fu Ying].
*: The Paper).