Hi-Tech meets High End: How S'Young International is shaking up beauty's retail model in China for International Brands

SHANGHAI, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- S'Young International China's premier partner for international beauty brands entering the Chinese market, launches a truly interactive advanced retail ecosystem, by expanding their omni-channel offering to include a new $10million retail space, their first offline store, SHUIYANGTANG opening on 1st October 2022. Located in Changsha, the media capital city (the Chinese centre of media and arts) in a high-end shopping destination, International Finance Square (IFS), with a daily average customer flow of 1.2 million, SHUIYANGTANG is an elevated one-stop shopping experience.

SHUIYANGTANG integrates a leading online platform with a high-end retail space to create a one-stop beauty and lifestyle experience. Leveraging their digitally native direct-to-customer business model, S'Young now completes the experience for Chinese customers with an opportunity to experience and shop niche beauty brands offline. It marks the completion of the offline closed-loop layout of S'Young International, providing a full set of solutions for their global partners in China with all-dimensions and omni-channel capabilities.

"China provides a new opportunity for overseas beauty brands and now is the time to break into the market," says Marshall Chen, Co-founder and CEO of S'Young International. "Our CP model has already helped many niche brands navigate the sophisticated omni-channel market. Now with the addition of our offline retail store SHUIYANGTANG, S'Young brings even more opportunity to brands seeking to reach the 5 million people in China's high-end consumer group."

S'Young International's CP model helps global brands navigate the often daunting and complicated Chinese market by working in partnership with them to build their positioning and strategies around marketing, retail, and supply chain. It offers an all-encompassing solution for brands to grow sustainably in China. Currently many International brands only sell online, cross border through Hong Kong, due to previous animal testing legislation constraints. However, with the welcome change in legislation, S'Young International is perfectly positioned to bring these brands even closer to new Chinese customers, through their offline store which gives consumers the opportunity to try products first hand before buying.

In tandem, S'Young International will launch flagship online SHUIYANGTANG stores on three major platforms - Tmall Global, Douyin (Tik Tok in China), and WeChat - not only reinforcing their omni-channel credentials but supporting customers in their new retail store with QR codes appropriate for multiple online channels that allow for the convenience of online shopping, while testing products in person - creating a truly interactive retail ecosystem.

SHUIYANGTANG A Beauty Emporium

The $10m concept store is over 3200 sq. ft., divided into four functional areas with an additional 800 sq. ft. pop-up space. With its knowledgeable beauty advisors, as well as the use of AI interactive technology, SHUIYANGTANG will attract high-end beauty enthusiasts from all over the country and introduce them to the unique philosophy, story and product benefits of the niche beauty brands available. The areas include:

Elite Choice - with digital artworks and interactive installations, the Elite Choice area is a pop-up section for brands to showcase their story and visual appeal, as well as a space to highlight the top skincare and beauty products selected by each customer. The Elite Choice area is entirely based on real consumption data and user experience, which presents a unique interaction between brands and customers.

Formulation Lab - an experiential space for skincare and beauty products with a display wall featuring product videos and imagery from major brands from across the world. The booth in the centre displays focus brands and the setting and look of the booth changes depending on the season and current trending topics. The area also has a decorative forest feature for customers to experience the healing power of plants.

Perfume Gallery - an innovative, multi-sensory fragrance testing sanctuary that blends visual, taste and smell experiences to bring endless surprises to consumers. In an elegant and relaxing environment, customers can choose their favourite scents from hundreds of niche salon fragrances on the display wall, while enjoying hand-brewed coffee from baristas.

Dream Dresser - an exquisite and delicate dressing table features high-end, niche overseas make-up brands. With adjustable lighting, the dresser provides multiple consumers with the memorable experience of being a beauty blogger with the freedom to try various new products themselves in a curated space.

Digital Analysis Led Experiences

S'Young International has been at the forefront of digital technology and this continues throughout the unique shopping experience at SHUIYANGTANG. Customers will be offered an AI beauty test, a fun and interactive way to discover their skin type and the products in store that will suit them. Once the results of the AI test are ready, customers will be matched with a dedicated beauty butler, who will recommend appropriate products for them based on their skin type and requirements and offer different experiences, gifts and vouchers, including styling, eyebrow grooming and make-up recommendations. This unique digital experience not only adds interest to the customer's experience, but also provides effective guidance for purchase.

SHUIYANGTANG will focus on introducing excellent beauty brands globally, receiving maximum support in both offline promotion and display. The average spending of mainstream beauty collection stores is $100, while the target customer group of SHUIYANGTANG is expected to spend $300-500.

Marshall Chen, Co-founder and CEO of S'Young International explains, "The high-end consumer group in China exceeds 5 million people and SHUIYANGTANG aims to officially serve this target group of consumers. In addition to its prime location and high-end mall endorsement, SHUIYANGTANG will link its target consumer group through the 'Exhibition-Store' model with a unique digital experience. This is the future of beauty."

The Exclusive Beauty Exhibition-Store Model

To bring SHUIYANGTANG's 'exhibition-style' store to life, S'Young International will host the world's most exclusive beauty exhibition, Genesis of Beauty - 100 Years of Beauty Collection, and officially launch SHUIYANGTANG's new retail 'Exhibition-Store' business model to establish a new retail chain, expected to garner millions of local high-end beauty consumers.

Marshall Chen continues, "Our goal is to bring beauty to life in a fun and innovative way for our consumers. The S'Young team created this best-in-class Exhibition out of love and look forward to seeing the future of the beauty industry continue to lead the way in China. We want to help every consumer discover their most confident self through the fun, interactive vision of SHUIYANGTANG."

The Exhibition, opening on 31st August 2022, will accompany the opening of the store in Changsha and all future stores. The 71000-piece collection will include beauty and cosmetics' collections from the East and the West and will revisit the important moments throughout 100 years of beauty.

With an exhibit value of over $15m, this historic exhibition will feature original highly desirable items from iconic global beauty pioneers, seen for the first time and on loan from Mr. Qiu, a prominent Chinese collector. It will also feature an exclusive "Fragrant Mist" Art Installation created especially for the exhibition by British fragrance pioneer Jo Malone CBE and celebrated Asian Artist Mr. Lee Seung Koo, founder of DDINGGU Art IP.

The exhibition located at International Finance Square (IFS), will run for three months from 1st September to 30th November and attract over 100,000 high end consumers and beauty enthusiasts.

The Future of Beauty in China

As brands grow and business becomes more global, their need for new customers and markets increases. China's beauty market (the combined value of its colour cosmetics and skincare markets) was worth 329.7 billion yuan ($51 billion) in 2020 and is set to enjoy a constant annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.18% to 2025, when its total value will reach 560 billion yuan ($86.7 billion), according to data from Euromonitor International. But this huge opportunity can also present challenges and if a brand wants to successfully launch in China, they need to find a partner who will navigate those country-specific requirements and grow and protect their brand equity. S'Young International has been that answer for many brands for over 16 years and will continue to introduce global niche luxury brands to Chinese consumers. They remain committed to becoming the best CP of global beauty.

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