Over the past two years China has been hailed as the new frontier of the global fragrance industry. In 2020, Chinese fragrance sales reached US$1.2 billion as major Western brands such as Christian Dior, Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Tom Ford and Jo Malone carved out loyal customer bases.
Major fragrance manufacturers such as Givaudan and Firmenich estimate that between five and 12 per cent of people in China wear fragrance. Depending on who you believe, the country’s 1.4 billion population semaphores spectacular growth whatever the real figure.
According to iiMedia, the global third-party data mining and analytic research firm, the Chinese fragrance market posted sales of AUD$2.97 billion in 2022. Over the next three years, a CAGR of 22.5 percent is predicted to push sales to AUD$6.56 billion – more than three times the growth rate of the overall global fragrance market.
Europe, led by France with Italy a distant second, represents 90 per cent of fragrance imports to China. But top local brands are giving them a run for their money because of their “patriotic spending” appeal. In September 2021, Puig, for example, invested in Scent Library, a leading Chinese fragrance brand, to ensure it had all bases covered.
The consumer shift to self-care during the Covid-19 pandemic boosted fragrance sales in China. As in Western countries, wearing fragrances has been linked to social activities, but Gen Zers have flipped that notion and made perfume more of an emotional reward.
Givaudan, the world’s largest flavours and fragrance company, conducted a major study in China to determine attitudes to fragrance use. The results were fairly evenly divided into three major trends – 36 per cent of respondents felt trendier, 33 per cent wore fragrance to express their personality and 31 per cent felt more self-confident after a spritz or two.
Distribution channels have also undergone seismic changes in recent years. Department stores have historically accounted for the bulk of sales in China. In 2015, they accounted for 64 per cent of fragrance sales in China, dropping to 55 per cent in 2020.
Online platforms have become the second-ranking distribution channel for fragrances in China, surpassing beauty speciality sales in 2018. In 2020, e-commerce platforms and streaming services such as TikTok, JD.com and Tmall represented 26 per cent of fragrance sales in China – up from 11 per cent in 2015. But don’t count out beauty speciality stores, leading retailers such as SaSa and Watsons still account for 15 per cent of perfume sales in China.
High-end is where it’s at in the Chinese market, representing 90 per cent of imported fragrance sales last year. The major Western players such as L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, Coty and Puig have been strongly targeting online platforms and travel retail. In December last year, L’Oréal launched 19 boutiques in China’s new duty-free mega-mall in Hainan, the travel retail capital of China, including eye-catching counters for its new Prada Paradoxe fragrance and Viktor & Rolf.
In February this year, Tmall, the world’s biggest third-party online platform, launched a pilot program called Scent Visualizer. A digital technology developed in collaboration with Puig, it has a data base of 21,500 fragrances and allows consumers to pick perfumes guided by their favourite “notes”.
The online giant views fragrances as a strategic growth opportunity in China, notably niche fragrances.
Read the current issue of our digital magazine below:
- For more news and updates, subscribe to our weekly newsletter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Like us on Facebook
- Connect with us on LinkedIn