BW Confidential - Issue #6 - May/June 2011 - (Page 58)

Market watch: China Prestige retailing credit: istock Keep on building The development of new store openings continues apace, but do department stores need to up their game and how will the emergence of new formats impact the market? by Oonagh Phillips ike everything else in China, beauty distribution is in a constant state of evolution. The department store is still the number-one channel for prestige beauty products, but more alternatives are emerging. There are close to 6,000 department stores in the country, but L’Oréal China luxury products division vice president and general manager Philippe Lamy points out that only 120 of these stores are up to prestige brand standards and that the top 20 account for around one third of the business. 58 L Department stores have long been criti-cized for lacking in innovation in terms of format and in differentiating their offer from the competition. As Hong Kong-based expert Gouten Consulting founder Francis Gouten says, they “had become stale and needed rejuvenation”. For L’Occitane Asia Pacific general manger André Hoffmann this rejuvenation is well underway: “There are so many new stores and there is huge re-invention going on, with local Chinese stores partnering with foreign groups. The game has changed and stores are upgrading”. However, brands canvassed by BW Confidential still have much to criticize about the channel. It has become increasingly expensive to do business in these stores, which is a normal development given the number of new brands that have entered the market in the past five to 10 years and that are all vying for space. But there is a general feeling that retailers are putting their own store roll-out programs and margins and the squeeze on suppliers well above improving or even creating any May-June 2011 - N°6 - BW Confidential

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BW Confidential - Issue #6 - May/June 2011

Cover
Comment
Contents
Update
- Brand & retail news recap
- Digital digest
- Companies on the move
Take note
- Market facts, figures & trends
Best of BW
- Highlights from our e-publication
Launches
- The latest in fragrance, skincare & make-up
Interview
- Puig ceo Marc Puig
Insight: Skincare
- Category overview
- Department store initiatives
- Perfumeries
- The latest trends
Wellness
- Discounting in spas
- Spa case studies
Retail
- New store concepts
Travel retail
- Market analysis: Asia & Middle East
- Chinese travelers
Radar
- Four up-and-coming beauty brands
Market watch: China
- Analysis: country overview
- Industry roundtable
- Prestige retailing
- E-commerce
Packaging
- Decoration techniques
Last word
- LPK Beauty vp group creative director Liz Grubow

BW Confidential - Issue #6 - May/June 2011