Sephora has appointed Nike's head of Asia e-commerce to head its China operations as the cosmetics retailer faces the challenge of turning around its flagging mainland business.
Ding Xia, who served as Nike's vice president and general manager of e-commerce for Asia Pacific and Latin America for the past five years, will lead Sephora into its “next phase of growth” as managing director for Greater China. Alia Gogi said. in a statement Monday.
Sephora, LVMH's second-largest brand by sales after Louis Vuitton, has struggled in the U.S. and Europe amid fierce competition in China's cosmetics sector and the dominance of major e-commerce platforms, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is struggling to replicate its business success in China. Heaven mall. The brand faces challenges unique to the mainland. Consumers' desire to shop online for everything from household goods to luxury goods may mean that Sephora, which is focused on expanding and improving its brick-and-mortar network, may not perform as well as in other regions.
Investors have expressed concerns about Sephora's performance on the mainland, concerns heightened by last month's announcement that it would pull out of neighboring South Korea, where it has failed to take market share from the local retail giant. did.
Since Sephora entered China in 2005, it has expanded to about 300 stores. The market is seen as key to reaching the 20 billion euro ($21.3 billion) goal within about five years, Bloomberg reported. However, according to the annual report of skincare maker Shanghai Jiahe Union Co., Ltd., which owns 19% of Sephora's mainland business, strict coronavirus lockdowns have left people largely unable to shop in-person. Due to the economic downturn that followed, the company is said to be incurring losses from 2022 onwards.
Ding, who previously led Hanes Brands' China expansion and is also the former head of fashion at local e-commerce giant Jingtocom, has been trying to convince increasingly wary shoppers to avoid splashing face masks and cream blush. You will need to persuade them to do so. You can find it cheaper elsewhere. Sephora's relatively high-priced offerings may put it at a disadvantage among the mainland's increasingly price-sensitive middle class, sparking a price war among beauty brands. There is.
Bloomberg first reported in July that Sephora was searching for a new China chief.
From Bloomberg News
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Sephora: 'Mother of the modern beauty industry' enjoys retail transformation
The beauty retailer, which left the UK in 2005, returned to London's Westfield White City mall in 2023. Sephora UK managing director Sarah Boyd said more stores are expected to open in the future.
