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Why the Bottom Fell Out of China’s Luxury Beauty Market

After years of outsized growth in prestige cosmetics, consumers have pulled back on the typically recession-proof category.
Tourists purchase cosmetic products at CDF Haikou Duty Free Shop during summer vacation.
Tourists purchase cosmetic products at CDF Haikou Duty Free Shop during summer vacation. (Getty Images)

In times of economic distress, the conventional wisdom is that beauty, as an emotional and relatively still affordable splurge, will keep shoppers spending. But even though China is looking at a cloudy macroeconomic picture, its cosmetics sector is turning that advice on its head.

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Further Reading

Rethinking China’s Beauty Market

As global brands face headwinds in China, L’Oréal and Shiseido are betting on new investment funds targeting C-beauty companies to sustain growth.

About the author
Tiffany Ap

Tiffany Ap is Senior Correspondent at The Business of Fashion. She is based in New York and covers marketing and the critical China market.

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