One thing’s for sure: Over the past two years, celebrity beauty brands have packed stores across the US, with high-profile names launching lines of makeup, skincare, hair, and cosmetics. wellness.
But how does the celebrity image look in other key markets?
Here, Beauty Inc. takes a look at four key countries for beauty:
CHINA
For celebrity beauty brands with large fan bases in China, the market appears to be a fruit in the palm of their hand.
According to data from Tmall, Fenty Beauty, the brand launched by Rihanna, has sold more than 100,000 sets of its flagship product, Diamond Bomb All-over Diamond Veil, on the e-commerce platform. The store currently has more than 1.13 million followers on Tmall.
KKW Fragrance, launched by Kim Kardashian who is being rebranded, still has an official store on Tmall with over 50,000 followers. Aside from its e-commerce presence, the brand has been coy about pushing any promotional efforts in the market. But buoyed by Kardashian’s stardom, the brand’s bestseller, KKW Body, has sold more than 5,000 bottles on the e-commerce platform.
“These famous brands have inherent advantages,” said Chen Liang, general manager of consulting agency Éclair Asia. “Their fan base can become a natural advantage, which is helpful early on when the brand wants to break into the market quickly, but for sustained growth, it all comes down to the product.”
Localization efforts also help differentiate brands. Fenty Beauty quickly hired singer Naomi Wang, nicknamed “China’s Beyoncé,” as its first brand ambassador when it entered the market in 2019. Known for working with quirky characters, the brand went on to work with singers and TV show stars. reality television Keran Lu. and Caelan Moriarty as ambassadors for Beauty Face.
Despite not having an offline presence in the market, Fenty Beauty managed to foster a sense of community by sponsoring Voguing Shanghai’s salon events.
For other famous beauty brands, building a retail presence is the most traditional yet valuable way to reach potential buyers.
Last November, celebrity makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin’s eponymous cosmetics brand, Kevyn Aucoin Beauty, was acquired by multi-brand beauty retailer Harmay from private equity firm Manzanita Capital. According to Harmay, the brand can be found in its 11 physical stores and Mini Program on Wechat. The niche makeup brand has garnered over 4,100 posts on Xiaohongshu, the popular Chinese social commerce platform. —Denni Hu
ITALY
Italy is not immune to the influence of international celebrities, making the country another fertile territory for the celebrity beauty business. Some names and brands resonate better than others and are powered by prominent beauty retailers Sephora and Douglas, often carrying the most sought-after celebrity brands.
Once again, the celebrity beauty pack is led by Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and its versatile assortment that appeals to different generations of consumers. It occupies a key space and brings traffic to Sephora. Other popular international brands in Italy include Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics, Jessica Alba’s Honest Beauty, Millie Bobby Brown’s Florence by Mills and Miranda Kerr’s Kora Organics, all featured in Douglas.
Celebrity fragrances such as Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry and Britney Spears are also distributed in local perfumery chains, but face strong competition as local consumers tend to prefer fragrances from fashion brands, perfume houses and niche labels.
At the same time, there have been tentative attempts to get local personalities to replicate a tried-and-tested format in the United States, such as TV host Michelle Hunziker, formerly married to Tomaso Trussardi, who co-founded the skin and body care and makeup brand Goovi, or Italian model Alice Campello, who established the Masqmai beauty brand in 2017. Sephora launched Masqmai earlier this year in Italy.
One of the biggest launches came from influencer-turned-entrepreneur Chiara Ferragni, who in late 2021 unveiled the first makeup collection for her brand. The launch marked another key milestone for Douglas, not only in Italy, but also in Spain and Portugal.
Other influencers have also drawn attention in the market. These include makeup artist Clio Zammatteo, who made a name for herself as ClioMakeUp, an account of 3.4 million followers, with an eponymous cosmetics brand, as well as Daniele Lorusso, aka @MrDanielmakeup, who rose to fame thanks to her celebrity makeup work and YouTube videos, and she is also an art director for Nabla Cosmetics. —Sandra Salibian
United Kingdom
Celebrity beauty is on the rise in the UK, but is much less established than it is across the pond in the US, according to Evan Merali of Financo Raymond James, a London-based investment banker.
While most of the celebrity beauty brands in the UK are American, she said she has seen some successful British players enter the market in recent years.
“Celebrities here in the UK who are launching brands have done a very good job of creating authenticity,” she told Beauty Inc. “An example of that would be Trinny Woodall. She has done an amazing job of building a really, really credible and well-respected makeup and skincare brand. She doesn’t just put her name on something. In fact, she is bringing something different to the market and connecting with her consumers.”
She also named Caroline Hirons and Sali Hughes, two influencers who are launching a beauty app and a beauty collaboration respectively, as people to watch, as both have built trustworthy audiences over the years who trust their recommendations. And let’s not forget Charlotte Tilbury and Pat McGrath, two celebrity makeup brands that are now dominant global presences.
But that’s not to say it’s the whole market, and there’s still room for a reality beauty show launch. In fact, “Love Island” and Revolution Beauty, a British skincare and cosmetics brand, recently launched a makeup collection. —Kathryn Hopkins
FRANCE
In France, celebrity beauty is an entirely different story: Merali describes the market as “very, very unique”.
“It’s dominated by French brands, it’s dominated by L’Oréal and a couple of other independent drugstore-type brands,” he said, noting that French beauty shoppers typically buy their products at drugstores or Sephora. “The French market is quite dominated by French brands and I think the French are generally seen as a bit more sophisticated when it comes to beauty, so it’s less about celebrities and more about products and brands.”
However, there are exceptions. The make-up artist’s Violette FR brand serum, moisturizing spray and dry shampoo brush can be found in pharmacies in Paris and Marseille, a dream come true. “It’s because it’s where the French actually buy our skin and hair care products,” he said at a WWD Beauty CEO summit in November, highlighting the benefits of in-store pharmacists educating consumers about the products. “Not even the first day of launch gave me that emotion. What excited me was seeing my product on a pharmacy shelf.”
And Jeanne Damas, the French influencer and entrepreneur behind Rouje, recently relaunched the brand’s beauty offering as it prepares to expand into skincare. She also hopes to open a separate beauty boutique near her Paris office. —Kathryn Hopkins
Source: wwd.com