L’Oreal has moved to strengthen its foothold in China’s fiercely competitive beauty market by taking a minority stake in mass-market skincare brand Lan, marking the French cosmetics group’s second investment in the country in recent months.
The deal underscores a strategic pivot toward partnering with domestic leaders as global brands face slowing sales and stiffening competition from nimble Chinese rivals.
The company did not disclose the valuation or size of the stake. But L’Oreal North Asia President and China CEO Vincent Boinay framed the investment as an affirmation of China’s strategic importance.
“We firmly believe investing in China is investing in the future, and we will continue to cultivate the Chinese market, work with more Chinese brands to create a beautiful future and meet the expectations of sophisticated Chinese consumers,” he said in a statement.
The move follows L’Oreal’s purchase of a 6.67% stake in Chando for 442 million yuan ($62 million), as revealed in the Chinese skincare brand’s Hong Kong IPO prospectus last month.
Analysts say the back-to-back deals reflect the group’s push to keep pace with China’s rapidly evolving mass-market segment, where it has historically lagged local competition.
International brands retreat as market pressures grow
While L’Oreal is deepening its presence, many international beauty brands are withdrawing from the mainland.
The country has become a difficult market for international beauty companies, with domestic labels, collectively known as C-beauty, capturing a growing share of the country’s $75 billion beauty and personal care sector.
The overall market has also lost momentum, weighed down by weak consumer confidence amid a protracted property downturn and persistent worries over job security.
More than 20 foreign labels, spanning mass to mid-premium segments, have scaled back operations or exited China since early 2025, according to Cosmetics Business Online.
These include Colourpop, Laneige, Innisfree, Rakuten, Sidekick, and Decorté, many of which have shut Tmall stores, exited Douyin, or closed offline counters.
LA Girl, once a standout in China’s affordable colour cosmetics market, recently announced the closure of its Tmall Global flagship after amassing 1.1 million followers.
It is clearing remaining inventory with discounts of up to 70%, reflecting the pressures facing global mass-market players unable to keep pace with the market’s breakneck speed.
From Pechoin to Chando: ‘C-beauty’ brands reshape the market and outpace global rivals
China’s beauty and personal care landscape has undergone a dramatic shift over the past five years.
Domestic brands—known collectively as C-beauty—have steadily captured market share from international incumbents by combining competitive pricing with fast innovation cycles and culturally attuned storytelling.
Many global players have been slow to adapt to China’s hyperactive launch schedules and content-driven retail environment.
Ben Cavender, managing director at China Market Research Group, said buying stakes in successful Chinese brands may be a way for L’Oreal to regain momentum.
“L’Oreal and other international brands face a tremendous amount of pressure from domestic brands that are iterating new products faster, and often have been more aggressive at marketing new skincare ingredients, concepts, and routines,” he said.
Leading C-beauty names such as Pechoin, Chando, and Herborist have benefited from deep consumer resonance.
Pechoin, in particular, has leveraged traditional medicinal ingredients to grow its following among younger shoppers.
The company surpassed RMB 100 million in monthly Douyin gross merchandise value earlier this year, placing it within the platform’s top beauty performers.
Its use of herbal formulations and local R&D has been central to its recent success.
In China alone, the beauty and personal care sector is projected to generate $41.78 billion in revenue in 2025, according to Statista, against global sector revenue of $677.1 billion.
However, despite their rising popularity, even leading C-beauty brands have not been immune to the overall slowdown.
Companies such as Proya and S’Young are increasingly seeking overseas acquisitions to diversify growth and emulate the global scale of L’Oreal and Estée Lauder.
Proya’s founder, Hou Juncheng, said earlier this year, the company aims to become one of the world’s top ten beauty groups within a decade, a target that requires annual revenue of at least 50 billion yuan ($7 billion).
Source: Statista
Livestream commerce reshapes beauty trends and consumer behaviour
Industry specialists have attributed the struggles of international brands also to the rise of Douyin-native commerce, where product discovery, livestreaming, influencer-led education, and checkout happen in a single integrated ecosystem.
The influence of platforms like Douyin on China’s beauty market is now foundational.
According to trade fair organiser China Beauty Expo, livestreaming and influencer-driven marketing have become critical in shaping purchasing decisions.
Online sales through Douyin reached a merchandise value of $449 billion in 2024, up 30 percent from the previous year, with 65 percent of beauty sales driven by short videos and livestream hosts.
Moto Chen, vice president of China Cosmetics Review, said Douyin’s fully integrated model explains its outsize impact.
“Why does it work so well? It’s a fully integrated ecosystem with discovery, education, purchase, and post-purchase support all happening in one place. This encourages repeat purchases; it’s not just about impulse buys,” he said in an article by Premium Beauty News.
The rise of this tightly woven content-commerce environment has intensified the challenges for international mass brands, many of which are not designed for China’s monthly launch cadence and highly fragmented attention economy.
Brands deepen engagement as China’s beauty market shows signs of recovery
L’Oreal’s renewed investment drive comes as early indicators suggest that China’s broader beauty market may be stabilising after two years of slow growth.
Last month, while announcing the company’s earnings, CEO Nicolas Hieronimus said the Chinese beauty market grew about 3% in the latest quarter—its first expansion in two years—as consumer sentiment showed modest improvement.
L’Oreal’s luxury sales outperformed the broader premium beauty segment, though its mass-market offerings continued to lag.
“I’m always very careful about China because one quarter doesn’t make a trend. But overall the market has gone into positive territory,” Hieronimus told analysts.
The company has struggled with slowing global sales in recent quarters, weighed down by weakness in North America and softer demand from Chinese consumers facing economic uncertainty.
Even as mass-market competition intensifies, China remains a cornerstone of growth for global luxury beauty houses.
L’Oréal Paris has deepened cultural engagement through art-led campaigns, including a collaboration with The Louvre Museum on an exhibition exploring beauty and history.
Similarly, Hermès expanded its beauty offering with the launch of the Le Regard eye makeup line in 2023, spurred by strong Chinese demand.
For L’Oreal, the stake in Lan marks another step in a broader strategy to secure relevance in a market undergoing rapid structural change.
As domestic brands rise, global players retreat, and consumer behaviour shifts toward livestream-led commerce, China remains both a challenge and an opportunity—one that L’Oreal appears determined to lean into.
The post L’Oreal picks up stake in second Chinese skincare brand: inside C-beauty’s rising popularity appeared first on Invezz