Cosmetics conglomerate Estee Lauder will soon launch its first Asian skincare range, according to Chinese-language Economic Observer last week.
The skincare range, to be named Osiao, is developed specially for China, now the third largest regional market for the Estee Lauder group, having recently surpassed Japan’s share of the global market.
Osiao, to be launched as a premium cosmetics brand, will be available first in Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford department stores from mid-October before it is expected to be introduced to mainland China in a year or two. It is not known who will be the face of the new skincare line by the Estee Lauder group, which signed up Chinese supermodel Liu Wen as its first Asian spokesmodel in 2010.
Osiao is not the first skincare range catering to the Chinese market. In 1994, Japanese cosmetics firm Shisheido launched its Aupres line for customers in China.
Indeed, China's cosmetics market is big business. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s beauty industry in 2011 increased 18.7 percent year-on-year to $17.1 billion, reported Red Luxury last week.
While China’s overall cosmetics market is still growing, big challenges remain for beauty companies trying to secure a bigger chunk of the pie.
The Asian beauty market is already dominated by skincare brands from France such as L’Oreal, reported Cosmetics Design in May this year. Another challenge is that there are already several Asian brands with a market presence in China, including Shiseido, Kanebo and Kose.
EW
