(Yicai Global) Oct. 31 -- Sephora has started to include more Chinese brands among its makeup, skincare, perfume and other beauty offerings as competition heats up in China. And a number of these brands are leveraging the French cosmetics retailer’s overseas sales channels to go global.

Sephora’s new product list released a few days ago included several Chinese labels. This is a big change from when the cosmetics store under French fashion house LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton first entered the Chinese market. In those days it mainly promoted top international brands such as Dior and Givenchy.

But things are now changing as a new wave of local cosmetics chains, such as Haydon, Harmay, The Colorist and Wow Color, emerge. Marionnaud Paris, a high-end cosmetics collection owned by Hong Kong healthcare chain Watsons, has opened five stores on the mainland in the past two years.

To boost sales, Sephora said in June that it will help five Chinese cosmetics brands achieve sales of more than CNY100 million (USD13.8 million) within three years. Many of these labels build high-end series or sub-brands to gain entry to Neuilly-sur-Seine-based Sephora.

Herborist, a range of skin care products based on Chinese medical herbs, was the first Chinese brand to join Sephora. The largest Chinese manufacturer of beauty and personal care goods Shanghai Jahwa United invested CNY4.5 million (USD617,200) to co-found Sephora (Beijing) Cosmetics Sales in 2006. By 2008, Herborist had its own cosmetics counter in Paris, China’s first.

Others, such as Marie Dalgar, Inoherb and MGP, have since followed. Shanghai-based Marie Dalgar has gained access to eight countries including Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore through Sephora.

Sephora is rapidly expanding in China and last year added 38 new stores compared with an average of 18 a year from 2005 to 2020. Sephora Shanghai and Sephora Beijing logged CNY10.9 billion (USD1.5 billion) in operating revenue last year, up 17.4 percent from a year ago, according to Shanghai Jahwa’s financial report.

Editor: Kim Taylor