In a recent article on Chinese cosmetics brands' Japan market entry, composed by BBB, BBB notes that the discontinuation of L'Oréal Paris makeup & Essie in Japan signifies the beginning of a slump for European and American color cosmetics brands, while "Japan has become the favored overseas market for Chinese color cosmetics".
BBB remarks on the swiftness of Chinese color cosmetics brands in the Japan market, and a mature market like Japan is in fact friendly for newcomers as rules of the game are fairly just and transparent. For instance, early Chinese players such as FlowerKnows and Zeesea first entered Japan through agents, followed by expanding into various distribution channels, then offline retailers including PLAZA and LOFT.
A significant advantage for Chinese brands, BBB writes, is their rapid response in terms of marketing. Not only do they excel at producing promotional materials speedily, but they also have an edge in terms of content:
"Social e-commerce in Japan is still at an early stage. Most brands do not have dedicated personnel and teams for the production of social-oriented content, whereas many Chinese beauty brands have departments dedicated to Taobao / Douyin. When Japanese beauty brands conduct content marketing, the purpose is mostly brand communication and brand image, seldom is it sales-oriented. Chinese brands have an absolute advantage in sales-oriented content marketing."
BBB also mentioned MoldBreaking as an important operator in Chinese beauty brands' Japan market entry:
"Creative-driven agency MoldBreaking, which has helped Japanese brands such as Shiseido and POLA-ORBIS with promotions in China, has begun providing cross-border D2C services to help Chinese beauty brands enter Japan. They have plans for an offline space in Tokyo where Japanese could get to know brands through multi-dimensional experiences."
This year, the major marketing campaign for FlowerKnows, ran by MoldBreaking Inc., has shown promise of headstrong marketing for Chinese cosmetics in Japan. As BBB surmised, although it remains difficult for Chinese beauty brands to shake Japanese brands' dominance, venturing overseas is still enterprising. Chinese beauty brands have begun to showcase Chinese cultural assets globally with confidence.