Tmall Opens Boots Store, Announces Plans with L’Oréal

CHINA: Alibaba Group’s Tmall is making headlines in the beauty industry. In September, Tmall and L’Oréal China announced that the two organizations will work closely together to find new ways for the beauty group to tap into the Chinese market, leveraging data-driven consumer analytics and a new value chain that better connects consumers, products and channels.

Tmall Innovation Center (TMIC), the retail innovation arm of Tmall, will work closely with L’Oréal China to catalyze the consumer-to-business (C2B) approach, based on insights and trends generated from the 600 million-plus customer base across Alibaba’s marketplaces.

“We have been very happy to ride the wave of the digital transformation together with Alibaba Group’s Tmall. As the number-one beauty company in the China market, L’Oréal China will continue to deepen collaboration with innovation partners locally to unleash the value of data insights and create value for our consumers,” said Stephane Rinderknech, CEO of L’Oréal China. “With our ‘Beauty for All’ mission and consumer centric strategy, our ultimate goal is to bring personalized products, services and experiences to each and every Chinese consumer.”

The partnership’s first initiative will focus on China’s male-grooming industry.

“With Tmall’s unparalleled customer insight, we are committed to helping L’Oreal China offer its customers best-in-class personalized product experiences. Tmall has transformed product development in every area, from product innovation and brand building to consumer assets and channel management. We help brands discover new demand and markets as well as offer completely new customer experiences,” said Jet Jing, president of Tmall.

In other news, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. launched a Boots flagship store on Tmall Global, Alibaba’s B2C platform for international brands and retailers. The new Boots flagship gives Chinese consumers access to some of the most popular Boots beauty brands in the UK and the US, including No7, Soap & Glory and Boots Cucumber.

Ken Murphy, executive VP, WBA and chief commercial officer and president of global brands, said: “We are truly excited to be launching our online flagship store in China exclusively on Tmall Global. This is a great opportunity for us to increase the internationalization of our products and to utilize the many innovative technologies that Alibaba has developed. At the same time, our collaboration with Tmall Global complements our presence in wholesale and retail pharmacy in China with a new, fantastic channel, through which we can distribute our beauty brands in a market with almost endless possibilities. Today’s announcement is the first step on a path we believe offers both of us incredible potential for the future.