CBI member, L’Oreal has launched its CeraVe skincare brand in China. The first range of products includes moisturisers, lotions and cleansers, and will initially be available on Alibaba’s e-commerce portal, T-Mall. Prices range from 45RMB to 374RMB, making CeraVe by far the cheapest foreign cosmetics label available in China.
Whilst L’Oreal’s initial distribution strategy for selling into the China market focuses on the country’s on-going e-commerce boom, the French cosmetics giant is also in discussions with Watson’s, for the offline distribution of CeraVe in China. Watson’s is the world’s largest cosmetics retailer, and is a household name in China. According to Chen Min, head of active cosmetics, L’Oreal China, “The company decided to approach selling into the China market through the country’s e-commerce infrastructure because most Chinese consumers shop for skincare products online.”
Ninell Sobiecka, vice-president for L’Oreal Asia Pacific said: “CeraVe will complement L’Oreal’s current product portfolio in China. […] moreover, the CeraVe series are labelled as accessible to all, with prices 40% lower than market rivals.”
It is CeraVe’s price-point that distinguishes it in-market. There currently is no foreign-branded skincare range for lower to lower-middle class consumers in China. With the launch of CeraVe, the French cosmetics manufacturer is particularly targeting Chinese consumers living in the country’s third and fourth-tier markets.
At the official launch held last Thursday, Ms. Sobiecka made the point: that, whilst The SkinCeuticals brand caters to China’s high-end and luxury market, and Vichy and La Roche Posay serve China’s middle-class consumers, the regions along the Western-side of China remain un-catered for.
This is L’Oreal’s second major product launch in China in six months. CeraVe will compliment a wider range of cosmetics products sold in China under the L’Oreal brand.
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