At the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, domestic and foreign cosmetics companies not only played homophonic stalks related to dragons, but also decorated their products with "Chinese red". Multinational cosmetics companies such as Shiseido and Beiersdorf want to deeply integrate into the Chinese market through elements such as "dragon pattern" and "Chinese red", while domestic cosmetics companies such as Ou Shiman and Han Shu skillfully use elements such as knotted ropes and New Year's goods to push the atmosphere of the Spring Festival to a climax.
During the visit, a reporter from China Business Daily found that around the Spring Festival in the Year of the Dragon, cosmetics companies fired the first shot of the "limited" throughout the year.
Cosmetics decorated with the "dragon element".
"Dragon Element" is popular in the cosmetics market, and brands use "Dragon" to convey affection
Dragon pattern, cute dragon ornaments, Year of the Dragon art ornaments...... Dragons of various postures and colors are "competing for beauty" in the New Year limited gift boxes of domestic and foreign cosmetics brands. Around the Spring Festival in 2024, brands have put on "Chinese red" and joined the "limited" first battle of the year.
A reporter from China Business Daily noticed that the dragon is a unique element of traditional Chinese culture, and many cosmetics companies have made a big fuss.
The Shiseido Group's CPB Skin's Key has teamed up with Chinese cloisonne master Xi Wen to use the "Jade Dragon Hibiscus", a symbol of wisdom and unknotting, as the design inspiration for the "New Year's Limited Series", and at the same time change the dragon pattern packaging for the products in the gift box. The brand said that during the Spring Festival, the "gorgeous dragon hibiscus and new vines" were engraved on the packaging with the pattern of traditional cloisonné technology, and the golden lines were used to outline the prosperous scene of the growth of all things, so as to render the auspicious and festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival.
Chantecaille, a brand of the Beiersdorf Group, uses Chinese red as the main color of the limited gift box, and the dragon image is printed on the outer packaging. The products included in the gift box are also packaged in red and gold, and are dressed in auspicious elements. In addition to the dragon motif printed on the packaging, La Prairie, another brand, has also created an artistic pendant for the Year of the Dragon.
In terms of the connection with traditional Chinese culture, compared with the external "strong expression" of multinational cosmetics companies, the elements adopted by domestic cosmetics companies are more subtle. Some seize the flow of the Spring Festival and integrate with reunion festivals such as sticking Spring Festival couplets and playing mahjong to create a brand image, and some will push the New Year's atmosphere of the limited gift box to a climax through bead embroidery, dragon scale rope and other forms.
The relevant person in charge of Han Shu said that he opened the New Year and blessing activities online and offline. At the Han Shu Brand Experience Center at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, the brand launched a flash mob event for the Chinese New Year Festival, allowing everyone to "get the New Year's red luck on the way home", and on Douyin, the brand also cooperated with leading KOLs to integrate Han Shu's New Year's limited gift box into the daily life of the characters in the form of a short play.
Osman and Chinese intangible cultural heritage bead embroidery launched a bead embroidery limited gift box. Ou Shiman said that the knot first appeared as a "knot rope note", and now it has slowly evolved into a decorative art with a beautiful meaning, and each knot has its own unique meaning and good wishes. Ou Shiman joins hands with knotting craftsmen to create dragon scale ropes, hoping to bring good luck to everyone in the New Year, and also hope to pass on this unique traditional craftsmanship.
"Limited" starts the "battle for position" in the cosmetics market in the new year
During the visit, a reporter from China Business Daily found that at present, in some cosmetics self-operated stores and beauty collection stores in Beijing, the sales of limited gift boxes for the Year of the Dragon are hot.
"Many customers come to the store to buy high-priced skincare products, and cosmetics brands happen to have popular products in their New Year's gift boxes, and after the brand sells these products in a package, customers can buy their favorite products at a better price. The staff of the Sephora store located in Beijing's Sanlitun business district said bluntly, "The store has placed the New Year gift boxes of major brands in a prominent position. Most consumers heard that this gift box was only sold around the Spring Festival, and they decided to buy it. ”
Chinese elements such as Chinese red and dragon pattern have become the standard configuration of cosmetics New Year's limited gift boxes.
Online sales of cosmetics New Year's limited gift boxes are also relatively hot. According to the relevant person in charge of Han Shu, Han Shu's limited edition gift box for the Year of the Dragon has sold a total of 358,000 sets in 15 days after it was launched.
On the Tmall e-commerce platform, the reporter searched for cosmetics New Year's limited gift boxes as keywords, and the monthly sales of Lancôme and L'Oreal Paris cosmetics New Year's limited gift boxes have exceeded 200,000 pieces, and Estee Lauder and Proya have exceeded 10,000 pieces.
"From the 30th of the Chinese New Year's Eve to the 15th of the first month, it is still the peak sales period for brands during the Spring Festival. "Especially offline, major shopping malls will still recommend limited gift boxes for the New Year to consumers, and the 'limited' itself is a marketing point, which can not only stimulate consumers' desire to buy, but also give the value of product collection." Many brands will also use the sales volume around the Spring Festival as the starting point for the year's sales. If the product sales are high, it is also an encouragement for the brand's sales throughout the year. ”
Cosmetics return offline from the New Year
The reporter noticed that in 2024, the "Spring Festival heat" of the cosmetics market offline may be stronger than that online.
When the reporter visited popular business districts such as Xidan Joy City, China World Mall, and Hopson Hui in Beijing, he found that Lancôme, Estee Lauder and other counters were decorated with elements of the Year of the Dragon, and some brands also played homophonic stalks such as "'Dragon' reappears". Some counter sales staff said that some gift boxes are only sold offline, and consumers cannot find the same product online.
Cosmetics offline counters play with "dragon" elements.
"Online operating costs squeeze brand margins as much as possible. Kong Sihan believes, "Perhaps starting from the New Year of the Dragon, major brands are trying to attract consumers to counters and specialty stores, so that the consumption scene can return to offline." ”
Han Shu's parent company, Shangmei, publicly stated in January 2024 that it would "return to offline". Fu Zichong, Sales Director of the Distribution Division of Shangmei Co., Ltd., said: "From the beginning of 2023, we suspended the CS channel (the sales terminal network system composed of cosmetics stores, daily chemical stores, and boutique systems in the terminal sales of daily chemical products) for one year, and spent one year purifying. Han Shu is now a super traffic brand, traffic empowers offline, and 'high traffic' is equal to the reduction of labor costs, so that CS channel partners can find a breakthrough in development with the help of the traffic of Han Shu brand. ”