E-commerce brings French cosmetics and perfume to Chinese consumers

"Our new French Mall gives companies the opportunity to sell directly to Chinese consumers who value quality, authentic French products. We look forward to adding more leading brands to our site in the coming months," ​said Richard Liu, JD.com founder and CEO, in a media release regarding the new platform. 

Compound interest​
"The development of China's e-commerce industry has been incredible, and JD.com is a clear leader of this amazingly fast growth,"​ commented French Senator Jean-Claude Lenoir, who is currently serving as president of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs.

Last year (before the introduction of French Mall), the company sold 600,000 bottles of French perfume and around 70 million French cosmetics and skin care products, according to the media release.

"France is a major producer of globally recognized brands, and companies should seek this historic opportunity to partner with China's leading e-commerce platforms to help French products reach tens of millions of Chinese families," ​said Senator Lenoir.

Quality and authenticity ​
A launch event for the new site took place earlier this month at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in France and gave prominent French business, diplomatic and political leaders a chance to connect with Liu.         

“At the event, JD.com and the French government also made a joint statement pledging to uphold the highest quality standards, with a focus on product authenticity,”​ according to the media release.

Last summer, JD.com was reportedly selling fake luxury goods provided by a third party. When news of the indiscretion broke, JD.com swiftly stopped sales of the counterfeit Armani, Hermes, and Burberry products in question, according to a Cosmetics Design article​.

At the French Mall launch event, “Mr. Liu underlined his commitment to ensuring that JD.com continues to set the benchmark in the Chinese e-commerce space for guaranteeing product authenticity. He noted that both through the company's direct sales platform and its marketplace stores, JD.com leverages its industry-leading logistics network to control and shorten supply chains and ensure product quality,” ​stated the company’s media release.

Besides the French partnership, the company has cooperated with governments in Chile, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia on importing genuine products for Chinese consumers. And apparently it doesn’t end there: “We plan to work similarly with other governments around the world on continuing to strengthen our already-robust anti-counterfeiting measures," ​said Liu.

Global anti-counterfeiting​

Companies, industries, governments and consumers are all concerned with preserving the quality and value that comes with authentic products.

Another Chinese online retailer, Jumei, “credits its anti-counterfeit labelling as a differentiating factor for brands concerned about maintaining product standards in international e-commerce,” ​according to a Cosmetics Design article noting the addition of Givenchy and Jurlique​ products to its site.

And companies including ITW Pillar Technologies and TruTag Technologies are banking on DNA-based seals and silica microtags. This sort of “traceable tamper-proof technologies are badly in need today and have the potential to become universal if affordable and proven to be reliable,” ​Kantha Shelke, PhD, scientist and principal at Corvis Blue, recently told Cosmetics Design​. 

Multifunctional products​
Are your up to date with the latest in the multifunctional color cosmetics segment?

Join Cosmetics Design and our panel of world leading experts in a free online forum​ March 4, where we will explore how BB, CC and DD creams have been the tip of the iceberg in this constantly evolving sector, while also discussing the scientific challenges and examining growth opportunities for the future.