Benefit Completely Withdraws from Chinese Market... Also Removed from Sephora

Makeup Brand Under LVMH Group
Withdraws from Department Stores, Online Malls, and Now Select Shops
17 Years Since First Store Opened in 2007

Benefit, the makeup brand under the world's largest luxury group Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH), is completely withdrawing from the Chinese market. This is due to sluggish sales caused by the patriotic consumption trend and the growth of local companies.

According to China's Daily Economic News on the 5th, Benefit will remove all products from Sephora stores in China within this month. Sephora's Benefit counters had been operated as the only sales channel in China after announcing the closure of official flagship stores on online platforms such as Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin, as well as offline stores at the end of last year.

Photo by Benefit

Benefit entered the Chinese market starting with a store in Shanghai in 2007 and gained great popularity early on with signature products such as eyebrow pencils and blushers. On the opening day of the Shanghai store, it set a new sales record in Asia, and by the end of 2020, it had expanded to 81 cities nationwide, operating 275 stores. It notably extended its reach to second- and third-tier cities such as Foshan, Linyi, Zhuzhou, Ganzhou, and Yangzhou.

However, as the patriotic consumption wave and rapid growth of local brands narrowed its market position, Benefit began closing offline stores starting in 2021. That year, it stopped operating Benefit stores in department stores, and last year, it also shut down online platform channels.

The complete market withdrawal has surprised some. When Benefit withdrew from online platforms at the end of last year, it announced that it would "adjust the scale and focus of its mainland China business" and that "Benefit would continue to be available through various platforms such as Sephora stores." On the local social networking service Xiaohongshu, news spread urging those holding unused Benefit Eyebrow Bar membership cards to quickly exchange them for products.

Jiang Yi, CEO of iMedia Consulting, evaluated, "Benefit’s withdrawal is more a sense of helplessness than a lack of confidence in the Chinese market," adding, "The market has undergone tremendous changes, but Benefit failed to keep up with the needs of consumer groups, especially the younger generation."

There are also criticisms that Benefit’s local selling prices were too high. The price of Benefit’s flagship product, the eyebrow pencil, is around 150 yuan (about 28,000 KRW). According to Mojingdongcha, an e-commerce data analysis platform, the average price of the top 10 eyebrow pencil brands by sales on Tmall and Taobao last year was only 30 yuan. Among these 10 brands, eight were Chinese brands, and Benefit ranked 14th with a sales share of 1.9%.