Retail channels

On April 18, Sasha International Holdings Limited released sales data for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2023, showing that during the period, Sasha International achieved a turnover of about HK$1.09 billion (about RMB 957 million), an increase of 30.3% year-on-year; When compared to the same period in 2018/2019, Salsa's international turnover returned to 54.4% of the current level.

It is understood that in the past year, AFIONA opened a total of 56 new stores, and the total number of stores exceeded 200. Stores have entered 12 new cities, and 60 stores have been renewed, and profitability has also been greatly improved.

Authoritative release

On April 4, the State Food and Drug Administration issued the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics Network Operation (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), which came into force on September 1, 2023.

The Measures consist of 35 articles in 5 chapters, which contain detailed provisions on the management of cosmetics e-commerce platform operators, the management of cosmetics operators within the platform, and the supervision and management.

On April 23, the Guangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation issued the Implementation Rules for Quality Supervision and Random Inspection of Excessive Packaging of Cosmetics (Revised Edition in January 2023), clarifying the sampling methods, inspection basis and judgment rules for supervision and random inspection of excessive packaging of cosmetics.

The sampling method under the new regulations will randomly select products that have a product quality inspection certificate or otherwise indicate that they are qualified and have recently produced products from the products to be sold. The sample base can meet the sampling quantity.

Brands and industries

On March 28, Blue Moon Group released its 2022 full-year financial report. As of December 31, 2022, Blue Moon's full-year revenue in 2022 was HK $7.947 billion (approximately RMB 6.984 billion), a year-on-year increase of approximately 4.6%; Gross profit was HK $4,595 million (approximately RMB 4,038 million), and gross profit margin was 57.8%, down 0.6% year-on-year; net profit attributable to owners was HK $611 million (approximately RMB 537 million), down 39.73% year-on-year; Earnings per share were HK$10.92 per share.

According to the "2022-2023 China MCN Industry Development Research Report" released by iMedia Consulting, the growth rate of the MCN market will drop from 45.8% in 2020 to 28.9% in 2022, and it is predicted that it will decline to 16.8% in 2024.

On April 5, Langzi issued an announcement that it is expected that the net profit in the first quarter will be 35 million yuan - 52.5 million yuan, and the net profit in the same period of the previous year (retrospective adjustment) will be 92,500 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37737.84% -56656.76%. Non-net profit is expected to be 34 million yuan - 51 million yuan, compared with 749,200 yuan in the same period last year, an increase of 4438.17% - 6707.26% year-on-year.

On March 31, FreePlus held a brand launch event in Shanghai to announce a new upgrade of its brand strategy. Continuing the brand's concept of pure and burden-free skincare, Friefons proposed a new brand strategy of "young and refined skincare".

In addition, it is reported that Friefons will also adjust its sales strategy layout in the global market. In the future, the brand in the Japanese market will gradually change to online sales. For the Chinese market, the brand said that it will not reduce offline sales channels, and at the same time will increase investment and research and development in the Chinese market, taking China as the most important global market for the brand.

Proya released the 2022 annual results express announcement. According to the announcement, in 2022, Proya achieved a total operating income of 6.385 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.82%; The net profit attributable to the parent was 817 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.88%.

Recently, British cleansing skincare brand Pai Skincare announced the completion of a £14 million Series C financing, led by Famille C Participations, an investment company owned by the Courtin-Clarins family of Clarins' owners.

LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company, recently released its first quarter report. Sales rose 17 percent in the first quarter, more than double analysts' expectations, as China rebounded sharply after the pandemic.
LVMH's sales reached €21.04 billion in the three months to the end of March. Organic growth of 17% compared to analysts' expectations of 8%, excluding the impact of currency volatility and acquisitions. LVMH data is a leader in the high-end sector and has proven to withstand rising inflation and market turmoil.

LVMH said sales in Asia, excluding Japan, rose 14 percent in the first quarter, compared with an 8 percent decline in the fourth quarter of last year, and China is expected to drive growth in 2023.

On April 10, Guangzhou Tianci High-tech Materials Co., Ltd. released its 2022 annual report.

In 2022, Tianci Materials will achieve an operating income of 22.317 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 101.22%; The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 5.714 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 158.77%; The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company, net of non-recurring profits and losses, was 5.539 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 155.38%; Net cash flow from operating activities was 4.164 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 103.45%. 

Recently, Italian beauty brand Kiko Milano's revenue in 2022 soared 42% year-on-year to 671 million euros, and EBITDA tripled to 75 million euros, a 30% increase compared with the same period of the epidemic.

With the global retail environment recovering, the brand plans to open 120 new stores this year, bringing the overall number of stores to more than 1,100, aiming for annual sales of 1.25 billion euros by 2027.

On April 10, Chongqing Dengkang Oral Care Products Co., Ltd. was listed on the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange with the stock code 001328. This means that the "first stock of anti-sensitive toothpaste" is officially born.

On April 7, another blockbuster brand of Juzi Biotechnology, Hinoside Biotechnology, held the 2023 brand listing conference and the world's first rare ginsenoside application summit forum in Shanghai. The meeting mentioned that in the 100 billion anti-aging market, ginsenosides ranked among the top 1 in the application growth rate of anti-aging ingredients.

On the afternoon of April 20, Proya (603605) released its 2022 annual report and 2023 first quarter financial report.

According to the 2022 financial report, the company's operating income in 2022 will be 6.385 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.82%; The net profit attributable to the parent was 817 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.88%. In other words, Proya earns an average of 2.23 million yuan per day. In the first quarter of 2023, the company achieved revenue of 1.622 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.27%; The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 208 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.32%; Basic earnings per share were $0.73.

On April 18, the National Bureau of Statistics released retail sales data of consumer goods for March. In the first quarter of 2023, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 114922 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%. Among them, the total retail sales of consumer goods in March were 3,785.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.6%.

Specific to cosmetics, in March, the total retail sales of cosmetics reached 39.3 billion yuan, up 9.6% year-on-year. In the first quarter of 2023 (January-March), the total retail sales of cosmetics reached 104.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%.

On the evening of April 19, the 2022 annual report released by Tongling Jieya Biotechnology Co., Ltd. showed that the company's revenue in 2022 was 667 million yuan, down 32.29% year-on-year; the net profit attributable to the parent was 141 million yuan, down 35.94% from the same period last year; net profit deducted from non-attributable parent was 130 million yuan, down 38.39% from the same period last year; Basic earnings per share were 1.74 yuan per share.

News on April 20, according to data, there are 97,800 medical cosmetology-related enterprises in China. In the past 10 years, the number of new registrations of medical aesthetic related enterprises has been increasing. Among them, 28,500 new ones were added in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 225.72%; In 2022, 33,400 new stores will be added, a year-on-year increase of 17.32%. In the first quarter of 2023, 9,103 new medical cosmetology-related enterprises were added in China, a year-on-year increase of 33.53%. 

Fragrance maker Inter Parfums' first-quarter sales jumped 24 percent year-over-year to $312 million, driven by positive performance in Europe and the popularity of its Jimmy Choo, Montblanc and Coach brand fragrances.

The group's European business jumped 26% to US$230 million, with Jimmy Choo, Montblanc and Coach Fragrances jumping 63%, 28% and 24% respectively.

For fiscal 2023, Inter Parfums expects full-year sales of $1.25 billion, up from its previous forecast of $1.2 billion.

On April 19, Pony Testing released its first-quarter results announcement that its revenue in the first quarter of 2023 was about 525 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1.5%; The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was about 9.26 million yuan, an increase of 68.08% over the same period last year; Basic earnings per share were 0.0323 yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.65%.

Earlier this month, Natura & Co announced an agreement with L'Oréal, which attracted widespread attention. L'Oréal acquired Aesop for US$2.525 billion (approximately RMB 17.364 billion), and the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023.

On the evening of April 17, Tianci Materials (002709.SZ) released the first quarterly report of 2023, showing that the company achieved operating income of 4.314 billion yuan, down 16.22% from the same period last year; The net profit was 695 million yuan, down 53.62% from the same period last year.

On April 17, the new third board Jinbo Biotech released the 2022 annual report performance report.

From January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, the company achieved operating income of 390 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 67.15%, a net profit of 109 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 90.24%, and basic earnings per share of 1.7500 yuan.

Recently, it was reported that the clean makeup brand "Youthforia" recently received a seed round of financing, led by True Beauty Ventures, with the participation of Willow Growth Partners and Mark Cubancy, and the funds will be used to support the brand's retail distribution and category expansion.

Just after the first quarter of 2023, according to the raw material filing platform of the State Food and Drug Administration, 11 new raw material ingredients have entered the monitoring period, and the filing of new raw materials accounted for 27.1% in March. In contrast, only 6 new raw materials were approved for filing in 2021.

Based on March, the approved raw materials were acetrop, caffeoyl hexapeptide-9 and acetyl hexapeptide-95amide. Among them, caffeoyl hexapeptide-9 and acetylhexapeptide-95amide are new raw materials for molecular structure innovation developed by Vicky Technology, mainly relying on the PDC (Peptide-Drug Conjugate) peptide conjugate drug technology composed of three parts: targeted peptide, active substance and linker.

In 2022, L'Oréal launched a number of beauty technology products, including YSL SCENT-SATION. As a personalized fragrance customization service product based on neuroscience research, YSL SCENT-SATION uses a brainwave (EEG) multi-sensor head-mounted device that can track and analyze consumers' emotional reactions when smelling different fragrance series.

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), L'Oréal unveiled a handheld makeup device called HAPTA designed to help people with limited mobility or tremble hands wear makeup independently.

On April 25, Shanghai Jahwa released its 2022 and 2023 first quarter performance reports. According to the report, Shanghai Jahwa achieved revenue of 7.106 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year decrease of 7.06%; The net profit attributable to the parent was 472 million yuan, down 27.29% from the same period last year. Although there was a double decline last year, in the first quarter of this year, Shanghai Jahwa's money-making effect has improved significantly. According to the financial report, during the period, Shanghai Jahwa's net profit rose 15.59% to 230 million yuan, the highest value in nearly 16 quarters; revenue was 1.980 billion yuan, down -6.49% from the same period last year. 

According to data from Solution Consulting, in 2021, the GMV of 20+ beauty brand mini programs exceeded 100 million yuan, with a maximum of more than 4 billion yuan, and the GMV of many brands doubled year-on-year, with a maximum growth rate of nearly 400%. Up to now, beauty companies such as Winona, Sephora, Watsons, Nature Hall and other beauty companies have entered the 1 billion club in the private domain of WeChat, Chanel, DIOR and other brands have reached 100 million, in addition, brands such as Pechoin, Hercules, Hanshu, Armani and other brands have performed extraordinarily.

On April 25, Chongqing Dengkang Oral Care Products Co., Ltd., the parent company of Cold Acid Ling, released its 2023 first quarter financial report. Among them, the net profit was 32.2809 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.54%.

From the perspective of revenue and profit, the company achieved operating income of 343 million yuan this year, a year-on-year increase of 10.65%, a net profit of 32.2809 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.54%, and basic earnings per share of 0.25 yuan.

In terms of assets, during the reporting period, the company's total assets at the end of the period were 1.884 billion yuan, and the accounts receivable were 39.2904 million yuan; in terms of cash flow, the net cash flow generated by operating activities was 3.6227 million yuan, and the cash received from the sale of goods and the provision of labor services was 399 million yuan.

On April 24, the veteran domestic product Xie Fuchun released its 2022 financial report. Last year's operating income was 20.2 million yuan, down 47.62% from the same period last year, and the net profit was -14.67 million yuan, down 138.31% year-on-year.

From the perspective of main products, modern skin care accounted for the first place in revenue, with revenue of 8.15 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 40.17%; the revenue of intangible cultural heritage was 5.41 million yuan, down 53.79% from the same period; The revenue of color cosmetics was 4.18 million, down 51.65% from the same period; the revenue of the suite category was 1.43 million, down 45.59%; The revenue of newly opened aromatic products last year was 18,000, and the gross profit margin was 58.63%.

On April 25, Aimeke (300896. SZ) released the 2023 Q1 quarterly report, Q1 company achieved operating income of 630 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 46.3%, net profit attributable to the parent of 410 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 51.2%, gross margin and net profit margin reached 95.3% and 65.5%, respectively, compared with 94.8% and 65.2% at the end of 2022.

On April 23, Zhongrong Co., Ltd. released its 2022 annual report, achieving operating income of 2.473 billion yuan in 2022, down 2.77% year-on-year; The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 213 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.7%; Basic earnings per share were $1.4. The company intends to distribute a cash dividend of 2.20 yuan (including tax) to all shareholders for every 10 shares.

According to sources, South Korean beauty brand ETUDE HOUSE's only 6 remaining stores in Hong Kong have officially closed their business.

On April 26, Mingchen Health Products Co., Ltd., the parent company of "Tihua Show", released its financial report for the first quarter of 2023. According to the report, in the first quarter, the company's revenue increased by 172.98% year-on-year to 407 million yuan; the net profit attributable to the parent was 34.1 million, an increase of 1981.81% compared with the same period last year. As for the reasons for the soaring performance, Mingchen Health said that with the development of the company's game publishing business, operating income has increased. 

On April 27, Bawang International (Group) Holdings Co., Ltd. released its 2022 annual report. According to the report, in 2022, Bawang Group's turnover will be RMB 246 million, down 10.0% year-on-year, and the loss attributable to the company's owners during the year will be RMB 19.43 million.

E-commerce platforms

News on April 3, according to technology media The Information, citing people familiar with the matter, ByteDance's revenue in 2022 exceeded $80 billion (Note: the current revenue is about 550.4 billion yuan), an increase of more than 30% over about $60 billion in 2021.

It is said that most of ByteDance's revenue growth comes from its core advertising business in Chinese mainland, which now has hundreds of millions of daily active users, and the revenue brought by the core advertising business in 2022 has doubled 2.5 times compared with 2021, reaching about $10 billion.

In contrast, YouTube ad revenue grew 1% to $29.2 billion over the same period, while Meta ad revenue fell 1% to $113.6 billion.

According to the relevant report of Cinda Securities, in 2022, the GMV of Douyin e-commerce live streaming will exceed one trillion for the first time, followed by Kuaishou e-commerce will also reach 900 billion, while Taobao Live will approach 800 billion.

Specific to the beauty industry. According to the relevant research report of Guojin Securities, in 2022, the sales of Taoji + Douyin + Jingdong Beauty (beauty and skin care & makeup) will reach 411.1 billion yuan, accounting for 68%/21%/11% respectively. Although Taoji still accounts for 68% of the share, in terms of the proportion of live broadcast contributions, Douyin and Kuaishou are higher than platforms such as Taojie/JD.com. In other words, Douyin/Kuaishou and others have greater potential in the beauty live streaming section.

According to the report, Douyin Beauty's sales reached 86.3 billion last year. Data from Kuaishou show that in 2022, Kuaishou e-commerce has nearly 300 beauty live GMV exceeding 10 million, the GMV of the whole year has increased by 245% compared with 2021, and the annual turnover of nearly 40 beauty experts has exceeded 100 million.

On April 11, Kuaishou e-commerce "Ideal Life Festival" ended, reaching GMV of more than 1.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 41%, brand self-broadcast orders increased by 175% year-on-year, and the GMV growth rate of personal care, digital and other subdivision brands exceeded 10 times.

It is understood that the GMV brought by the pan-mall exceeded 240 million, a year-on-year increase of 121%, the order volume increased by 218% year-on-year, and the GMV brought by search increased by 112% year-on-year. Through the short video "Planting Grass - Pulling Grass", orders increased by 710% year-on-year.

International conglomerates

According to L'Oréal's official website, on April 3, local time, L'Oréal reached an agreement with Brazilian beauty group Natura & Co to acquire its high-end beauty brand Aesop, with a transaction valuation of US$2.525 billion (about 17.374 billion yuan).

A few days ago, a Manhattan court in the United States ruled under the provisions of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy law to approve Revlon's previously filed $2.7 billion debt relief agreement, which means that Revlon will exit the bankruptcy process later this month.

According to Revlon, the restructuring will provide an opportunity for the group to start afresh and provide a sustainable foundation for future growth.

For the full year 2022, Revlon sales declined 4.7% year-over-year to US$1.98 billion, widening net loss to US$674 million.

On April 19, Johnson & Johnson announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2023. According to the financial report, Johnson & Johnson's Q1 revenue increased by 5.6% year-on-year to US$24.7 billion (about 170 billion yuan), better than the market expectation of US$23.666 billion (about 162.9 billion yuan).

By business, sales of consumer health business were US$3.852 billion (approximately RMB26.5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7.4%; Sales of pharmaceutical business were US$13.413 billion (approximately RMB 92.3 billion), a year-on-year increase of 4.2%; Sales of the medical technology business were US$7.481 billion (approximately RMB51.5 billion), up 7.3% year-on-year.  

In the three months to the end of March, L'Oréal, the world's largest beauty group, surged 13% year-on-year to 10.38 billion euros, exceeding 10 billion euros in a single quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.

During the reporting period, the group's sales in Europe and North America surged by 16% and 16.6% respectively, and although the high-end beauty business in China was flat, consumer demand and store traffic recovered significantly from February.

On April 21, Procter & Gamble announced its fiscal 2023 third-quarter results, with fiscal third-quarter net sales up 4% year-over-year to $20.1 billion; Organic sales excluding currency fluctuations increased 7% year-over-year in the fiscal third quarter, primarily due to higher prices of 10%, led by organic sales growth of 6% in the United States, 8% in key markets in Europe and 2% in Greater China. The Chinese market is expected to continue to provide growth drivers in the medium to long term.

On April 24, Johnson & Johnson's consumer health division was publicly offered as an independent company, with a new company named Kenvue. It is reported that Johnson & Johnson's consumer health division involves 44 brands such as Neutrogena, Aveeno and Tylenol, covering cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other fields.

The spin-off is valued at about US$40 billion (about 275.854 billion yuan), which is likely to be the largest IPO of such products in the US market so far this year.

In the three months ended March 31, Kering's sales rose 2% year-on-year to €5,077 million, and comparable revenue rose 1%, far below the performance of its competitors in the same period. In the first quarter of this year, LVMH's fashion leather goods division revenue soared 18%, and Hermès sales achieved a strong growth of 23%.

On April 26, Beiersdorf released its first quarter 2023 performance report. During the period, Group sales (excluding the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and exchange rate movements) increased by 12.2% to EUR 2,481 million (approximately RMB 18,989 million). According to the financial report, the consumer business unit, which includes the cosmetics business, achieved sales of 2.057 billion euros (about 15.741 billion yuan) in Q1 2023, achieving organic growth of 14.8%. Tesa business unit sales of 424 million euros (approximately 3.243 billion yuan), organic growth of 0.9% year-on-year. Beiersdorf expects organic sales growth in the Group and Consumer business units in 2023.

Tax Free Dynamics

On April 9, the Wangfujing International Duty Free Port in Wanning, Hainan Province officially opened, with a total operating area of 102,500 square meters and planned to open in three phases.