Brand story: Top news on the big name beauty brands across APAC

1 – Sephora ramps up APAC expansion by launching in Hong Kong, South Korea and New Zealand​

Beauty retailer Sephora has announced its ambitions to expand​ further into the Asia Pacific market by entering Korea, New Zealand and making a comeback in Hong Kong.

The LVMH-owned firm plans to unveil its news stores in all three markets by the end of 2019.

Sephora Asia has over 3,000 stores globally and currently operates in twelve countries including Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, China and Thailand.

The company said adding Hong Kong, Korea and New Zealand to its business is “a testament to its appetite for international beauty in the region”.​

2 – Shiseido’s double-digit profit drive: Firm lays out plans for China, Americas and EMEA

Shiseido Group hopes to hit new highs​ by strengthen its position in China, America and EMEA as well as tighten its supply chain and improving production.

In the last financial year, Shiseido achieved a record-high performance of over ¥1tn ($9bn) in net sales and ¥100bn ($900m) in operating profit, which were initially the targets for 2020.

During the firm’s latest General Meeting of Shareholders, representative director, president and CEO Masahiko Uotani expressed that Shiseido does not intend to rest on its laurels.

“We want to continue to take on bold challenges, aiming for further heights. We will continue to take action on the issues in front of us, without putting them off.”​

In line with this, Uotani said the company has revised its targets for 2019 and 2020.

3 – P&G and Unilever among brands caught up in India’s ‘profiteering’ dragnet

A semi-judicial body set up after the roll-out of India’s new goods and services tax in 2017 has been taking action against​ a string of FMCG companies, after accusing them of not reducing prices on a range of products even though tax had been cut on these.

P&G India and Hindustan Unilever are among the brands caught up in a dragnet conducted by the Directorate General of Anti-profiteering (DGAP), though they both deny the allegations of withholding lower prices from customers.

The DGAP is the investigatory arm under the finance ministry that reports to the top anti-profiteering body, the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA). Already, around 100 cases of alleged anti-profiteering have been referred to the authority.

4 – Amorepacific debuts Etude House in ‘fast growing’ Indian market through beauty retailer Nykaa​

South Korean beauty giant Amorepacific Group has launched Etude House in India through beauty retailer Nykaa -  its third brand to hit the market in the country after Innisfree and Laneige.

Lee Chang-kyoo, Head of Amorepacific's Group Strategy Unit, said the company decided to launch Etude House in India to strengthen its footprint in the fast-growing Indian beauty market.

"The Indian beauty market is growing by nearly 10% every year and this fast growth is driven by millennial customers with increasing disposable incomes and growing interests in global beauty. We see tremendous potential in India to support our goal of strengthening the experience of Asian Beauty in the region.”​

5 – Unilever Ventures backs Aussie clean beauty brand Dr Roebuck’s as it enjoys global expansion

Australia-based clean beauty brand Dr Roebuck’s has cinched funding​ from Unilever Ventures after its recently worldwide expansion.

Dr Roebuck’s is a clean beauty brand founded by sisters Zoe and Kim Roebuck. The brand launched in the US in 2018, where it has amassed a devout following.

Natalie Sperling, CEO of Dr Roebucks told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that its base has doubled from 1,000 to 2,000 doors in the past few months.

The brand is currently distributed in over 20 countries and has partnerships with leading beauty retailers, Sephora, Cult Beauty, SpaceNK and Shopper’s Drug Mart.

He added: “With the launch of Etude House, we seek to offer the best beauty experience to our Indian customers - with products that are backed by over 70 years of studies in natural ingredients and world-class innovative technology.”​