Schwan Cosmetics News Magazine

NEWS MAGAZINE
TRADE SHOWS, CHINA IS
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
SCHWAN COSMETICS AT
CHINA BEAUTY EXPO,
THE REPORT…..
At the close of the first half of 2021, few trade shows in the
world were open to the public. China Beauty Expo was one
of them and Schwan Cosmetics was there! The aim was
to present the new formulas developed especially for the
Chinese market.
Interview with Leroy Lee, Regional President Asia-Pacific,
who gives us an update on the Group’s presence in Asia.
Could you please start by outlining Schwan Cosmetics’
presence and strategy in the region?
Leroy Lee : Schwan Cosmetics actually began to establish
itselfin the region 20 years ago. Our factory located in Tianjin
was established in 2002 and started operations in 2003.
TIANJIN SCHWAN COSMETICS
AT A GLANCE
Size: more than 6,000m2
Employees: about 80 employees
One stop shopping: inhouse
capabilities from injection molding,
bulk production and filling, to decoration
and secondary packaging
Annual capacity: 35 million units
The plant has served as our manufacturing base to meet the
requirements of the world’s leading brands in this region
(e.g. Schwan Cosmetics is the main supplier of eyeliner to
India) with its state-of-the-art technology in make-up pencil
production. It is worth nothing that we now have a local
development function that focuses on and develops innovative
products suiting the needs of consumers in the area.
LEROY LEE
Regional President Asia
What is your strategy for China?
Leroy Lee : As I told you, we have been active in this region
for over 20 years. And we have set up new production
capabilities to specially target China, clearly the largest
market in Asia-Pacific. As you know, China has remained a
very dynamic market and has suffered the least from the
Covid19 pandemic. Moreover, make-up is the only segment
here that is experiencing considerable growth. When
you add to that, the fact that big international brands are
also focusing on the Chinese market and need partners
with innovative ideas and local production capabilities
to enter it, you can see why our presence is key. For this
market, we will provide local to local solutions with such
innovations developed out of full local consumer insights
and local supply chains.
What makes your production site in Tianjin so special?
Leroy Lee : In Tianjin, we supply all of Schwan Cosmetics’
products (eyes, eyebrows, lips, face) and we handle
product registration, logistics and production. We supply
mechanical pencils, lipsticks with a wide range of formulations
and packaging options as well as liquid liners &
powders (Dip-in). Last year we invested signficantly to increase
our capabilities, particularly for mechanical pencil
capability. Our Tianjin plant has been building up in-house
capabilities as a full solution provider from injection, bulk
production, filling, to decoration and secondary packing.
Did you feel the effects of the Covid19 pandemic like
everywhere else in the world?
Leroy Lee : With a drop in sales of between 20-25%,
the impact of the pandemic was severe in the Asia-Pacific
region. Some key customers even experienced a 30-50%
drop in sales. India and Southeast Asia were the most
severely affected and whilst Korea and Japan suffered
less, they have been slow to recover. Luckily, China was
the least affected region.
China Beauty Expo: an opportunity to showcase innovations.
What are the main trends in this Asia-Pacific region?
Leroy Lee : In APAC there is no singular trend that applies
to the whole region. Each sub region has different consumer
needs and therefore has developed its own trend.
Northern Asia with Korea and Japan create the globally
popular K-beauty and J-beauty trends, which lean towards
natural make-up with a very sophisticated and sensorial
product experience. China has started to have its own
trends, especially when it comes to different color selections
in comparison to the others, and have a preference towards
fresh and moisturized textures. On the other hand, South East
Asia and India are still adopting quite western market trends
such as matte-finish, long-lasting, and high pigmentations.
This year was a first for Schwan Cosmetics as an exhibitor
at China Beauty Expo... What was the objective?
Leroy Lee : First of all, we wanted to present our entire range
of products and services. Following major investments in
China in more modern production lines and facilities, it seemed
also relevant to put forward our production capability
as well as our flexibility and agility in providing high-quality
ODM solutions. At our stand innovations for both the international
and local market were showcased.
Was there an opportunity to participate digitally?
Leroy Lee : That’s right. Due to the pandemic, the exhibition
was mostly open to domestic visitors but we also offered our
«Digital Campus», a link to a new virtual showroom.
This enabled visitors from other parts of the world to discover,
at any time, our innovations presented at the fair. In addition,
we wanted to show first-hand that after the transformation of
our production facilities in the Asia-Pacific region, our ODM
solutions had become flexible and timely.