France and China eye market opportunities to boost economic exchange for cosmetics

03 Aug 2023 --- France and China have released a joint statement on heightening mutual benefits politically, economically and culturally, as the 60th anniversary of diplomacy between the two nations approaches.

“France and China commit to providing a level playing field for companies, particularly in the fields of cosmetics,” reads the joint statement, along with doing the same for other sectors such as agri-food, sustainable developments and finance. 

France is the center and basis for several cosmetics brands and companies worldwide. L’Oréal and its popular brands, Lancôme, La Roche-Posay and Vichy, saturate the cosmetics market. Other notable French brands include L’Occitane en Provence, Caudalie, Nuxe, Avène, Guerlain, Clarins, Yves Rocher and LVMH.

China carries a considerable market potential for French cosmetic brands and Chinese consumers looking for Western beauty solutions. Conversely, France is a widely untapped market for China, “because Chinese local brands have lagged behind European, American, Japanese and Korean brands for many years, the Chinese beauty market is being dominated by brands from these countries.”

“The scale of China’s cosmetics consumption market ranks first in the world. The overall beauty and skin care industry is about ¥500 billion [US$546 billion], of which basic skin care and personal care are relatively large. The main tracks are base makeup and makeup, basic facial skin care, functional skin care, medical dressings and beauty collection stores,” shares a study.

Improving market access
The two nations are also working on advancing cosmetics regulations to increase product safety and ease market access.France and China commit to providing a level playing field for cosmetic companies.

France and China are to set up a working group to harmonize regulations on counterfeit goods, inspection and standards, reports Bloomberg. 

The French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, also traveled to Beijing, China, at the end of July. “We want to have a stronger economic relationship between Europe and China, between France and China, which means to get access to all European goods,” he said.

Additionally, on May 10, Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, held a meeting in Paris with Qin Gang, state councilor and Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China. 

Apart from global political issues, they “agreed on the need to develop an economic relationship” by bringing more strength and balance and “were looking forward to the upcoming high-level economic and financial dialogue.”

Mutually benefitting agreement
Earlier this year, in April, French President Emmanuel Macron visited China to speak to President Xi Jinping, who “spoke favorably of the momentum of positive and steady growth in the China-France relationship.”

Stressing mutual value and close communication, Xi Jinping hopes France will provide “Chinese businesses with a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment.”

“China hopes that France will play an active, leading role” in improving the nation’s relationship with the EU. However, earlier this year, the EU expressed concerns regarding China’s restrictive cosmetic registration requirements for foreign cosmetic companies to sell goods in the nation.The two nations are working on advancing cosmetics regulations to increase product safety and ease market access. 

Cosmetic developments in China
L’Oréal’s Professional Products division recently experienced an H1 growth of 7.6% like-for-like, which had a “remarkable” rise in mainland China, India and the UK. 

Also, its Luxe division’s recovery in mainland China experienced record sales and market share, spearheaded by Yves Saint Laurent, Prada and Valentino in the luxury fragrance market.

The company’s business in China recovered in Q2, thanks to offline and online channels. During the 6.18 shopping festival, eight of the L’Oréal brands were in the Top 20, with L’Oréal Paris and Lancôme ranked first and second across all categories.

Also, Evonik and Guangdong Marubi Biotechnology inked a cooperation agreement in Shanghai, China. Symrise unveiled Little Red House – a fine fragrance creation hub – in Shanghai, China.

With more eyes on China, Brenntag acquired Shanghai Saifu Chemical Development, touted as a market leader with expertise in personal care chemicals. Meanwhile, Sensai will be opening a flagship store in Shanghai this year, introducing a luxury business model unique to the brand in the country.

By Venya Patel