Tmall to become beauty hub after inviting hundreds of brands to open stores

Alibaba’s Tmall said it expects to introduce as many as 1,000 international and domestic cosmetics brands on its platform this year to meet Chinese consumers' desire for varied products.

At its annual beauty summit, Tmall announced that seven international cosmetics companies — Tom Ford, Glamglow, P&G’s new beauty line Oriental Therapy, Cosme and d-program from Japan, Primera from Korea and Barnängen from Sweden — have signed agreements to open flagship stores on Tmall this year.

Bain & Company and Alibaba also joined hands to help brands target their strategies and build brand value in a consumer-centric approach in order to enhance the digital transformation process.

Catering to the needs of shoppers who want to enjoy a variety of Korean beauty products, the Korean Small & Medium Business Corp (SBC) announced at the Tmall Beauty Summit that it plans to launch a flagship store to house 50 niche Korean brands.

Tmall’s target to introduce more cosmetics stores to its platform is part of its drive to cement itself as the preferred choice for beauty brands to connect with Chinese shoppers.

"As China continues its consumption upgrade, more and more people from different age groups and geographic locations are willing to spend on high-quality beauty products, and we are poised to work with more brands to address the opportunity,” said Jet Jing, President of Tmall.

Sales of beauty products on Tmall jumped more than 60 percent last year, according to a joint report released by Tmall and market research firm Kantar.

Aged between 15 to 19 years old, Generation Z female consumers are newcomers to the beauty market, and they've been found to be willing to spend more on high-end lipsticks than women of other age groups, representing an opportunity for cosmetics companies.