The perfect diary of Chinese cosmetics brand, established in 2017, has just obtained US $150 million from the investment pool dominated by US investors. Through this financing, the brand from China's digital ecosystem is valued at $4 billion. Has China finally found the first global beauty brand?
Few Chinese cosmetics brands can boast about the perfect diary (perfect Diary) that captures the attention of Western media. This young brand has made great achievements in China: on singles day on November 11, 2018, more than a year after its launch, perfect diary has become the first cosmetics brand in China. In 2019, tmall's 13 minute sales on Singles Day exceeded 100 million yuan, surpassing international brands such as l'or é Al and Maybelline.
The perfect diary is mainly aimed at generation Z young women aged 18-28, who are more interested in national brands than previous generations. The brand quickly stood out with innovative online marketing strategies.
Digital primitives
According to university consulting, a Chinese consulting agency, in addition to promoting the brand on Weibo and wechat, perfect diary also takes advantage of xiaohongshu community (50% of users are less than 30 years old) and bilibilibili community (80% of users are post-90s). In addition, they also cooperate with brand related celebrities and KOL, such as Li Jiaqi, the "king of Chinese lipstick".
In parallel, the perfect diary creates a virtual role Koc, xiaowanzi (xiaowanzi), stock characteristics and brand target consumers and plays different roles: beauty consultants, friends, supplier promotion information, and real-time customer service. This virtual Koc helps brands build closer relationships with customers and transform public traffic into private, cheaper traffic.
"How to get rid of the textbook market is the perfect strategy for the consulting company," said. "They use KOL strategy to create brand awareness on social media platforms to enhance their desire to buy. Then, they integrate these external resources into the private traffic pool on wechat to encourage customers to buy their products again and become their loyal customers."
However, in an interview with Forbes magazine, Chen Vincent, co-founder of Guangzhou Yasen international, the parent company of perfect diary, insisted on defining the basic elements of the brand: "you can't rely on marketing to build reputation, but to maintain the consistency of word-of-mouth and product quality. The power of products promotes the development and growth of perfect diary."
Influenced by western culture
The website mentioned the production partners of the brand: Italian Intercos and Korean cosmox. Perfect diary will open its own production base in Guangdong by the end of 2021, Reuters reported.
Perfect diary makeup products are affordable and very suitable for social media sharing. Taking advantage of the wave of Chinese young people's taste in cultural consumer goods, perfect diary signed cooperation agreements with the British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of art in New York. In particular, these agreements led to the packaging of eight limited edition lipsticks reminiscent of playing cards depicting Royal portraits that belong to museum collections, including Louis XIV, Queen Victoria and Napoleon.
In the spirit of being equally interesting and photogenic, the perfect diary contacted the Chinese channels of exploration and National Geographic to create eye shadow inspired by grassland animals and Chinese scenery.
physical store
According to Vincent Chen, co-founder of the company, the online / offline mode of the perfect diary is one of its main advantages in dealing with the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. When the physical store had to close, the clerk became the live host. In an interview with Forbes, he explained: "last February, the number of live broadcasts of perfect diary on Alibaba's Taobao platform increased by 28% compared with January, and the sales volume increased by about 170%."
Perfect diary is currently opened in China's largest cities. The goal is to open 600 stores in China in the next three years, covering all city categories. "This year, we will open 200 stores in medium-sized cities," Chen Changxin announced. However, he admitted that "e-commerce still accounts for the majority of our sales". However, he believes that "physical stores will become a key area of Yasheng global and will experience the fastest growth in the next few years."
In June 2020, the group announced that it would launch a new skin care brand called Abby's choice. They also confirmed their global ambitions. According to Chinese media reports, the new US $140 million financing is a prerequisite for listing on the New York Stock Exchange soon.
