Giorgio Armani Beauty will launch a flagship store on Alibaba-owned B2C shopping platform Tmall next month as part of the brand’s latest campaign to capture China’s fast growing appetite for high-end beauty products, Alibaba said Monday.
The luxury beauty and skin care brand, owned by the world leading cosmetic giant L’Oreal, will hold a series of pre-sale events on Tmall for the next three weeks ahead of its official launch on Jan 16. As part of the rev-up, the brand is offering 4,000 cases of its iconic “My Armani To Go” cushion foundation exclusively to be sold on the platform during the period.
On the day of the launch, the brand will also open a store on the Luxury Pavilion, the invite-only section within the shopping site for premium and luxury brands. Brands including Burberry, Hugo Boss, La Mer, Maserati and Guerlain (LVMH) have joined since the platform was first introduced in August this year.
China’s beauty product sector has seen a boom in recent years in tandem with the rapid development of the Chinese economy. According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, retail sales of cosmetic items in the first 11 months of this year notched a 13.5% on-year growth, amounting to RMB $228.5 billion ($34.87 billion).
Recognizing China’s fast-growing demand for high-quality cosmetic products and Tmall’s expansive reach with its 500 million active users, many top beauty names such as Lancome, La Mer, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Fresh and Kiehl’s have opened up shops on Tmall in recent years.
In a recent interview with China Daily, Veronique Gautier, global president of Giorgio Armani Fragrances & Beauty, said Armani Beauty has seen stellar growth in China, at twice the speed of the rest of the markets combined.
On Jan 12, several of the Giorgio Armani Beauty’s high-ranking executives will appear at an event in Beijing to announce the official launch of the flagship store on Tmall. The brand will also introduce a high-tech showcase of its 2018 spring-summer collection.
As part of tie-up, the brand and Tmall will introduce interactive digital experiences for consumers to book offline make-up sessions with beauty advisors, explore its product offerings — from the latest Ecstasy Shine lipstick crafted specifically for the Asian market to its iconic fragrances and Lip Maestro lip gloss.
Entertainment and gamification will also play a major role in attracting customers to Giorgio Armani Beauty’s new online store. By using their mobile phones, users can use the AR-powered interactive feature—Unlock Armani Codes—to scan anything that contains any of the six-letters in the word “Armani.” Those who have collected all six letters will have the chance to win sample kits priced at RMB 260 each.