Coty Inc. expands to Chinese market via the Tmall marketplace

By

Rebecca Taras

Published
Jul 26, 2017

As retailers struggle to find their place in an increasingly competitive online market, copious brands worldwide are turning to Tmall, a B2C shopping site owned by Alibaba that has an enormous e-commerce presence in China. It was recently announced that Coty Inc. is going to start selling its U.S. skincare brand in an effort to reach the young demographic of Chinese consumers.

It has been reported that the New York-based company has official plans to launch other Coty brands on Tmall in the near future—especially because the Chinese storefront has the capability to reach consumers in smaller cities, which have been proven to be key revenue generators.

Furthermore, according to a report from Mintel Group Ltd., 70 percent of Chinese consumers are purchasing products from their smartphones in lieu of a brick-and-mortar store, and 37 percent conduct research online before even consider buying merchandise.

While Coty Inc. has been selling its line of beauty and personal care products in stores for years, a representative from the Shanghai Commercial Economic Research Center explained that the success rate of Tmall—and the brands with storefronts—is contingent on the fact that there is no brick-and-mortar risk and that companies can assess consumer demand and preferences before expanding too quickly, information that is no doubt helpful for any brand that chooses to test the Chinese market.