Retail Channels

On August 28th, Ulta Beauty, the largest beauty retailer in the United States, released its financial reports for the second quarter and the first half of the 2025 fiscal year.Data shows that in the second quarter, Ulta Beauty's net sales reached USD 2.789 billion (approximately RMB 19.89 billion), a year-on-year increase of 9.3%; its net profit was USD 261 million (approximately RMB 1.861 billion), a year-on-year increase of 3.3%. In the first half of the year, its net sales rose by 6.8% to USD 5.637 billion (approximately RMB 40.201 billion), and its net profit slightly increased to USD 566 million (approximately RMB 4.037 billion).

Recently, Face The Future, a British online beauty retailer, announced the acquisition of Luxurious Look, a high-end hair care specialty platform. The transaction amount has not been disclosed. Luxurious Look focuses on salon-grade hair care brands.

Sephora, a beauty retail giant, recently released its financial report for the first half of 2025. Its total revenue was RMB 3.444 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 12.3%, with a combined net loss of RMB 120 million, which was a further expansion compared to the RMB 94 million loss in the same period last year. Since Sephora fell into losses in 2022, it has accumulated a total loss of RMB 1.096 billion over three and a half years.

Authoritative Release

Recently, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) announced the filing of three new cosmetic ingredients: "Filaggrin" by Guangzhou Jiyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (National Cosmetic Ingredient Filing No. 20250110) targets skin barrier repair; "Pleione bulbocodioides Stem Extract" by Yunnan Botanee Group (National Cosmetic Ingredient Filing No. 20250111) focuses on soothing and brightening the skin; and "Bakuchiol" by Guangzhou Hecheng Sanxian Co., Ltd. (National Cosmetic Ingredient Filing No. 20250112) enters the market as a plant-based retinol, further heating up the antioxidant and anti-wrinkle segments.

Recently, the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC) publicly solicited opinions on 18 standards including "Limits for Total Aerobic Microbial Count in Eye Cosmetics, Lip Cosmetics and Children's Cosmetics", and plans to implement stricter control over a number of sunscreens. Among them, 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor (4-MBC) will be directly banned; the maximum concentration of Oxybenzone-3 will be differentiated by application area, reduced to 6% for facial products and limited to 2.2% for body products; the permitted concentration of Homosalate will be lowered from 10% to 7.34%, and it will only be allowed for non-aerosol facial products; the maximum concentration of Octocrylene in spray products will be adjusted to 9%. This revision involves the core ingredients of sunscreen products and is expected to have a significant impact on the sunscreen industry.

On September 5th, the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control (NIFDC) issued a notice to publicly solicit opinions on the "Technical Guidelines for the Research of Anti-Hair Loss Cosmetics (Trial) (Draft for Comment)" and supporting raw material research guidelines, with the deadline set for September 20th. The document clarifies that the registration of special anti-hair loss cosmetics should conduct in-depth research in four aspects: quality control, safety assessment, human efficacy verification and label claims. It prohibits medical implications such as "hair growth promotion" and "hair follicle activation", and encourages the establishment of stricter quality control indicators for functional ingredients.

On September 5th, the Shandong Provincial Daily Chemical Industry Association announced that the group standard "Detection of Recombinant Collagen Penetration, Degradation and Collagen Synthesis Promotion - In Vivo Human Raman Spectroscopy Method" was released and officially implemented on the same day.It is understood that the main drafting units of this group standard are Shandong Freda Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Weiming Shiguang Biotechnology Co., Ltd.This group standard specifies the basic principles, test principles, test methods, result calculation and test report for the detection of recombinant collagen penetration, degradation and collagen synthesis promotion using in vivo human Raman spectroscopy. It is applicable to the detection and evaluation of the above-mentioned properties of recombinant collagen in recombinant collagen raw materials and cosmetics under in vivo human skin conditions.

Brands and Industry

Recently, Proya (Stock Code: 603605) announced its plan to issue H-shares and list in Hong Kong, which is expected to make it the first A+H-listed beauty enterprise. The company simultaneously released its semi-annual report: in the first half of the year, its revenue reached RMB 5.362 billion and net profit reached RMB 799 million, with year-on-year growth of 7.21% and 13.80% respectively, and the full-year revenue is expected to exceed RMB 11 billion. The revenue of hair and body care products was RMB 320 million, a year-on-year increase of 131%, and the annual target of the OR brand is RMB 800 million; the revenue of color cosmetics was RMB 837 million, a year-on-year increase of 25.8%. With the dual financing platform, the company will strengthen its global layout.

On August 27th, Botanee Group (Stock Code: 300957) disclosed its semi-annual report for 2025: its revenue was RMB 2.372 billion and net profit was RMB 247 million, decreasing by 15.4% and 49% respectively, but it still remains in the first echelon of functional skincare. Its main brand Winona contributed RMB 1.95 billion, leading the dermatological skincare track in market share for consecutive periods; among its sub-brands, Winona Baby achieved revenue of RMB 110 million, an increase of 8.6%, and the high-end anti-aging brand Aikeman achieved revenue of RMB 51.47 million, a sharp surge of 93.9%.

Recently, Bloomage Biotechnology (Stock Code: 688363) released its semi-annual report for 2025: the company's revenue reached RMB 2.261 billion and net profit reached RMB 221 million, with year-on-year decreases of 19.57% and 35.38% respectively. However, the net profit attributable to shareholders in the second quarter increased against the trend by 20.89%, the inventory turnover days decreased by 70 days month-on-month, and the operating quality improved. The revenue of functional skincare products decreased by 33.97%, while the nutrition science business increased significantly by 32.40%, becoming a new growth engine. During the reporting period, the R&D investment reached RMB 231 million, a year-on-year increase of 15.25%, hitting a record high; the scale of the R&D team expanded to 902 people, with master's and doctoral degrees accounting for over 40%. The company's strategic focus has shifted to R&D and brand upgrading.

On August 27th, Mao Geping (Stock Code: 01318.HK) released its first semi-annual report after listing: in the first half of 2025, its revenue reached RMB 2.588 billion, a year-on-year increase of 31.3%; its net profit reached RMB 670 million, a year-on-year increase of 36.1%; and its gross profit margin remained above 80%. With the high-end dual-wheel layout of "skincare + color cosmetics", the company has ranked 4th in terms of revenue among domestic listed beauty enterprises, second only to Proya, Shanghai Jahwa, and Bloomage Biotechnology. At the current growth rate, its full-year revenue is expected to exceed RMB 5 billion.

Recently, Fuerjia released its semi-annual report for 2025: its revenue was RMB 863 million and net profit was RMB 230 million, decreasing by 8.15% and 32.54% respectively, and the non-recurring net profit was nearly halved. The revenue of cosmetic products was RMB 625 million, an increase of 29.95% against the trend, accounting for 72% of the total revenue; the revenue of medical device products was RMB 238 million, a sharp decrease of 48%. The online channel contributed RMB 695 million, accounting for over 80% of the total revenue, a year-on-year increase of 47%, while the offline channel decreased by 64% due to channel optimization.

Recently, Giant Biogene released its interim results for 2025: in the first half of the year, its revenue reached RMB 3.1127 billion, a year-on-year increase of 22.5%; its net profit reached RMB 1.1824 billion, an increase of 20.6%. The revenue of functional skincare products was RMB 2.4095 billion, accounting for nearly 80% of the total; the revenue of medical dressings was RMB 693.2 million. On the brand side, Kefumei achieved revenue of RMB 2.54 billion, and Kelijin achieved revenue of RMB 500 million, with year-on-year growth of 22.7% and 26.9% respectively. During the reporting period, the R&D investment was RMB 41 million, accounting for 1.3% of the revenue.

Recently, Runben Co., Ltd. released its semi-annual report for 2025: during the reporting period, it achieved revenue of RMB 895 million, a year-on-year increase of 20.31%; the net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 188 million, a year-on-year increase of 4.16%. The company is accelerating its expansion from the mosquito repellent category to the skincare track, focusing on baby care, continuously launching new high-margin products and deepening its presence in online channels, driving the overall gross profit margin to rise steadily.

Recently, Ruoyuchen, a beauty TP (Third-Party Service Provider), released its interim results for 2025: its revenue reached RMB 1.319 billion, net profit reached RMB 72.26 million, and non-recurring net profit reached RMB 69.76 million, with year-on-year surges of 67.55%, 85.60%, and 83.52% respectively. Among them, its own brands made outstanding contributions, with revenue increasing by 242% year-on-year and accounting for 45.75% of the total revenue. Its brand Zhanjia achieved revenue of RMB 444 million, a sharp increase of 157%, and the sales volume of its new milk sandalwood-scented laundry detergent increased by 5 times on the first day of launch; its brand Feicui achieved revenue of RMB 160 million, an increase of 62% month-on-month in the second quarter, and launched 4 new functional products.

Recently, Marubi Bio disclosed its semi-annual report for 2025: its revenue reached RMB 1.769 billion, a year-on-year increase of 30.83%, hitting a new high for the same period since its listing; the net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 186 million, a year-on-year increase of 5.21%. Its main brand Marubi and color cosmetic brand Lianhuo achieved growth of 34.36% and 23.87% respectively relying on online marketing, driving the overall gross profit margin to 74.6%.

On August 29th, Pien Tze Huang released its semi-annual report for 2025: its revenue reached RMB 5.38 billion and net profit reached RMB 1.442 billion, with year-on-year decreases of 4.81% and 16.22% respectively. Among them, the revenue of the cosmetics business was RMB 320 million, a year-on-year decrease of 17.01%, and the gross profit margin dropped to 61.45%. The company stated that the weak consumer demand coupled with the rising cost of online traffic is the main reason for the performance pressure on the cosmetics segment.

On August 27th, Liuzhou Liangmianzhen Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Liangmianzhen") released its financial report for the first half of 2025.Data shows that during the reporting period, Liangmianzhen achieved revenue of RMB 522 million, a year-on-year increase of 1.02%; the net loss attributable to shareholders was RMB 5.0842 million, compared with a loss of RMB 3.4675 million in the same period last year; the net cash flow from operating activities was RMB 36.6784 million, a year-on-year increase of 5686.90%.

According to the semi-annual report recently disclosed by Blue Moon, its revenue in the first half of the year reached RMB 2.769 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3.01%; it suffered a loss of RMB 397 million.It is reported that Blue Moon was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the end of 2020 and suffered a loss in the first half of the following year. However, it achieved a full-year profit of RMB 829 million in 2021. Since its listing, Blue Moon has suffered losses in the first half of each year but turned profitable for the full year, until it suffered a loss of approximately RMB 700 million in 2024, breaking this cycle. Blue Moon's loss dilemma has also triggered heated discussions in the industry.

Recently, Guangzhou Customs released data: in the first seven months of 2025, the total value of Guangzhou's foreign trade imports and exports reached RMB 711.46 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.5%. Exports reached RMB 466.52 billion, a year-on-year increase of 23.2%; imports reached RMB 244.94 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1%. Guangzhou's cosmetics exports were approximately RMB 6.43 billion, a year-on-year increase of about 45%, significantly higher than the city's overall export growth rate of 23.2%.

Recently, BabyPray, a domestic baby functional skincare brand, released a clearance announcement on its official channels stating that the brand will close all online flagship stores and offline distribution networks by September 30th. BabyPray is the only sub-brand under listed company Jingcheng Skin (Stock Code: 836930) that focuses on sensitive skin care for 0-6-year-olds. The company stated that it will fully shift to the adult functional skincare line in the future.

Recently, Jiangsu Xiefuchun National Cosmetics Co., Ltd. disclosed its semi-annual report for 2025: its operating income reached RMB 53.3975 million, a year-on-year increase of 20.41%; the net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 8.0119 million, a year-on-year increase of 27.15%; the non-recurring net profit was RMB 7.7168 million, a year-on-year increase of 25.31%. The offline revenue from scenic spot direct sales, franchising, and hotel channels reached RMB 35.7345 million, a year-on-year increase of 16.54%; the online revenue reached RMB 16.4483 million through multi-platform marketing and live streaming with top KOLs, a year-on-year surge of 33.06%.

Recently, Bodycare, a British health and beauty chain brand with a 48-year history, has submitted bankruptcy warning documents to its creditors. The group currently operates approximately 150 stores across the UK and employs 1,500 people. Affected by high inflation, online impact, and declining customer foot traffic, Bodycare is facing a cash flow crisis and is in urgent negotiations with potential buyers. If the restructuring fails, up to one-third of its stores may be closed and hundreds of employees may be laid off, making it another "failure case" in the UK retail industry following The Body Shop.

Recently, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued Announcement No. 32 of 2025, incorporating 5 alternative test methods (including the Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability Test Method) into the Cosmetic Safety Technical Specification (2015 Edition), and clearly stating that they will be implemented from March 1st, 2026. Enterprises are encouraged to adopt these methods in advance during the transition period. The new methods focus on the evaluation of corneal irritation, skin sensitization, skin absorption, immunotoxicity, and oral mucosal irritation, providing more accurate and humane testing methods for cosmetic registration and filing, marking the full alignment of China's cosmetic supervision with the international 3R principles (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement).

On September 1st, color cosmetic brand Flower Knows announced the completion of its Series B financing, exclusively invested by Proya Group, with Chishan Capital continuing to serve as the long-term exclusive financial advisor.

Recently, Shangmei Co., Ltd. released its semi-annual report for 2025: its revenue reached RMB 4.108 billion and net profit reached RMB 556 million, with year-on-year growth of 17.3% and 34.7% respectively, and the gross profit margin rose to 75.5%. Its main brand Kans contributed RMB 3.344 billion, and the baby functional brand newpage achieved a surge of 146.5% to RMB 397 million.

Recently, Shenzhen Vicky Technology released its semi-annual report for 2025: its revenue reached RMB 130 million, a year-on-year increase of 34.6%; its net profit increased simultaneously, maintaining stable profitability. The company stated that the growth mainly came from new strategic customers, the launch of new products, and in-depth cooperation with existing customers, and the market recognition of its core business continued to improve; at the same time, overseas orders grew significantly, and its international layout entered a fast track.

Recently, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued 4 more new cosmetic ingredient filing numbers. Baicalin from Shanghai Lexunli Biotechnology was the first to be approved (National Cosmetic Ingredient Filing No. 20250103). The company used vesicle delivery technology to solve the problems of solubility and transdermal absorption, claiming triple effects of antioxidant, collagen regulation, and DNA photo-damage repair, and the relevant paper has been published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. On the same day, three plant-based ingredients were announced: "Dendrobium devonianum Stem Extract" (National Cosmetic Ingredient Filing No. 20250104) from Beijing Dr. Plant, extracted from the national second-class protected wild Dendrobium, focusing on alpine repair; "Potentilla glabra Extract" (National Cosmetic Ingredient Filing No. 20250105) from Beijing Shangjie Youlan, derived from a Rosaceae plant listed in the general food catalog, positioned for anti-oxidation and soothing; and Guangdong Qingyunshan Traditional Chinese Medicine, as a domestic enterprise, filed "Urolithin A" (National Cosmetic Ingredient Filing No. 20250106), a metabolite of ellagic tannin, for the first time, focusing on mitochondrial anti-aging, which was previously only filed by foreign-funded enterprises. The technical requirements for the four ingredients have not been publicly released yet, but they have completed the filing and can be put into production immediately, entering a three-year safety monitoring period.

Recently, British mass beauty brand Revolution Beauty announced the termination of its sales process. Co-founder Tom Allsworth returned to serve as CEO, and Adam Minto also returned to the board of directors as a consultant.

Recently, Walgreens Boots Alliance, the world's largest "pharmacy + beauty" company, announced the official completion of its acquisition by private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

On August 28th, Bath & Body Works released its financial reports for the second quarter and the first half of the 2025 fiscal year.Data shows that in the second quarter, Bath & Body Works' net sales reached USD 1.549 billion (approximately RMB 11.048 billion), a slight year-on-year increase of 1.5%; its net profit was USD 64 million (approximately RMB 456 million). In the first half of the year, its net sales reached USD 2.974 billion (approximately RMB 21.212 billion), the same as the same period last year, and its net profit was USD 169 million (approximately RMB 1.205 billion).

On September 8th, Zhan Yan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was officially listed on the NEEQ (New Third Board), becoming another dermatological skincare enterprise in the capital market.

Recently, Brazilian beauty group Natura&Co announced that it has reached a binding agreement with consumer goods company PDC Group to sell Avon's business in Central America and the Dominican Republic (referred to as "CARD") to PDC Group at a symbolic price of USD 1 (approximately RMB 7). Upon completion of the transaction, Avon Guatemala will repay USD 22 million (approximately RMB 157 million) in accounts receivable to Natura's Mexican subsidiary. The transaction is expected to be completed by October 30th, after which Natura will still retain the Avon brand authorization in the CARD region and continue to supply finished products.

On September 15th, the National Bureau of Statistics released data on the total retail sales of consumer goods in August 2025. Data shows that in August 2025, the retail sales of cosmetics reached RMB 34.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. From January to August 2025, the retail sales of cosmetics reached RMB 291.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 3.3%. In August, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 3.9668 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%. From January to August, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 32.3906 trillion, an increase of 4.6%. From January to August, the national online retail sales reached RMB 9.9828 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%.

E-commerce Platform

On September 16th, Lazada, the Southeast Asian e-commerce platform under Alibaba, officially launched the "One-Click Easy Overseas Expansion" function, fully connecting with Tmall merchants' backend systems. Currently, well-known brands such as Banana Umbrella, babycare, Philips, and Lock&Lock have settled in as the first batch, and this function is gradually opening to all Tmall merchants. This cooperation marks the first time Lazada has fully opened its Southeast Asian localized operation capabilities to Tmall merchants.

International Major Group

Recently, Coty Group, a fragrance giant, released its annual report for the 2025 fiscal year (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025). Among the data, the net revenue in the fourth quarter (April - June 2025) reached USD 1.2524 billion (approximately RMB 9.017 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 8%, and a decrease of 9% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis. In terms of net profit, it suffered a loss of USD 72.1 million (approximately RMB 519 million), which narrowed compared with the same period last year.

Duty-Free Updates 

Recently, China Tourism Group Duty Free Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as "CTG Duty Free") released its semi-annual report for 2025. During the reporting period, the company achieved an operating income of RMB 28.151 billion in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 9.96%; the net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 2.6 billion, a significant year-on-year decline of 20.81%.Notably, since the first quarter of 2024, multiple financial indicators of CTG Duty Free have been declining for six consecutive quarters, with both revenue and net profit continuing to show negative growth. In the first half of this year, the number of employees of CTG Duty Free even decreased by nearly 1,500.

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