On October 22nd, the 2024 (10th) China Cosmetics Trends Conference, hosted by CHAILEEDO and supported by NBC, Trautec, Winkey, and COSMAX, was held in Shanghai!
This conference, themed “Technology Anti-Aging,” saw leading beauty and cosmetics companies from China and internationally sharing the latest trends in technological anti-aging. Concurrently, numerous companies along the cosmetics industry supply chain exhibited their latest products and technologies. During the event, CHICMAX founder and CEO LYU Yixiong delivered a presentation titled “Focus.”
Here is a recap of the speech:
In the Chinese cosmetics industry, companies often experience phases of leading and lagging. The key question is how to sustain operations continuously and navigate through cycles. CHICMAX’s answer to this is—focus.
Since last year, in an uncertain market environment, CHICMAX has found a path of growth through focus. In the first half of 2024, CHICMAX’s revenue and profits increased significantly against the trend, positioning it at the forefront of domestic beauty brands. As of now, KANS’s Douyin account has achieved 14 consecutive championships, still setting new records in Douyin beauty.
So, why did CHICMAX choose to focus? What strategic layout does CHICMAX have regarding focus? How will CHICMAX achieve sustainability through focus in the future?
- Focusing is CHICMAX’s primary strategy
At the beginning of the presentation, LYU Yixiong stated, “Focusing is CHICMAX’s primary strategy.” According to the presentation, the first rule in the CHICMAX employee handbook clearly states that the CHICMAX CEO must never engage in industries other than cosmetics. In LYU Yixiong’s view, there are three reasons for choosing to focus:
Firstly, focus can help endure cycles. Through focus and the accumulation of time, there is an opportunity to globalize and outperform cycles. As long as you focus, you are less likely to be eliminated.
Secondly, the cosmetics industry has no ceiling. Cosmetics can expand into more categories, brands, and channels, and this work is never-ending even over centuries.
Lastly, the cosmetics business can be passed down from generation to generation. LYU Yixiong mentioned that future successors at CHICMAX can only work within the cosmetics industry. In an industry without limits, passing down the business from generation to generation and choosing to focus is worthwhile and beneficial for both individuals and the company.
- Less is More, Slow is Fast
At the tactical level, how does the focus strategy actually get implemented? And why focus at all? LYU Yixiong summarized with two key phrases: Less is More; Slow is Fast.
Less is More means that a company should focus on its core business. During the event, LYU Yixiong shared his thoughts on the business world and analyzed the development commonalities among three companies: Anta, Procter & Gamble (P&G), and L’Oréal.
He believes that these globally successful companies all share a common trait: they focus on their core businesses. For instance, Anta focuses on sports and outdoor, L’Oréal focuses on cosmetics, and P&G focuses on daily necessities. It is evident that these companies grow stronger the longer they remain focused.
Building on this analysis, CHICMAX’s current path is to focus solely on the cosmetics track, using a model of focusing on one track with multiple brand differentiations to support sustainable growth based on the success of multiple brands.
Slow is Fast means that a brand should stick to the right direction, as slowly but steadily reaching there might be the quickest path to success. Under the multi-brand model, LYU Yixiong cited CHICMAX’s two emerging brands, newpage and ARMIYO; the former focuses on infant and child skincare, while the latter specializes in sensitive skin repair. Their commonality lies in being niche and excellent, focusing on a specific track, and achieving commendable results.
- The Best Era for Building Brands Arrives, Strong Teams Drive Sustainable Businesses
How will CHICMAX achieve sustainability through focus in the future? This is a question that the industry is equally concerned about, and LYU Yixiong provided an answer using two diagrams.
The first diagram illustrates CHICMAX’s six major competitive aspects, including leading in organizational drive, research and development, AI information, marketing, intelligent production, and transitioning from personalized to standardized development.
LYU Yixiong emphasized the transition “from personalized to standardized development.” Because individual efforts have limitations, CHICMAX will shift from achieving personal value to growing together with partners and friends, utilizing the advantages of the CHICMAX platform to collaborate with external parties for mutual success.
The second diagram outlines CHICMAX’s future six major sector plans, including mass skincare, hair care, mother and baby products, skin medical beauty, makeup, and high-end skincare + devices.
LYU Yixiong mentioned that for a company to grow in China in the future, two factors are crucial: first, the company must have a multi-brand DNA; second, the company needs a team that collaborates efficiently to support the operation and development of multiple brands.
“CHICMAX is a company that operates with clear division of labor, operates like an army, and drives sectors.” LYU Yixiong stated. In the future, as the CEO of CHICMAX, I will lead a strong team to continue exploring the long-term sustainable development path for CHICMAX.
LYU Yixiong stated that if the business in the Chinese region develops well next year and CHICMAX maintains its high growth momentum, while the talent pipeline for each brand in the Chinese region has been perfected, he will lead the team to enter the Southeast Asian market to empower CHICMAX’s future sustainable growth.
Lastly, as the market enters a cold winter, LYU Yixiong believes, “Although it is a cold winter, it is now the best time to build brands. The environment is becoming more mature, requiring comprehensive skills rather than luck. It’s the era of professionalism, where the unprofessional players will always be eliminated.”
