Jefferies says China online beauty sales fell 6% in September

Investing.com -- China's online beauty market contracted 6% in September compared to the same month last year, according to Jefferies' China online beauty tracker. The decline came against a 9% comparison from September 2025.

Skincare sales fell 6.1% while color cosmetics dropped 5.2%. The combined categories account for over 80% of China's beauty market.

The online performance was weaker than the National Bureau of Statistics' reported retail sales growth of 5.4% for September, which covers most retail channels with annual sales above 5 million RMB.

Most multinational brand performance was weak, with only Beiersdorf and Galderma showing growth. L'Oréal's online sales declined 5% year-over-year in September, with skincare flat and color cosmetics down 17%. CeraVe grew 35%, L'Oréal Paris grew 19%, and SkinCeuticals grew 12%, while Helena Rubinstein fell 20% and Kiehl's fell 15%.

Estée Lauder group sales contracted 8% year-over-year. Within skincare, the Estée Lauder brand fell 7% and La Mer declined 9%. In color cosmetics, Mac grew 2%, Tom Ford grew 1%, and Estée Lauder grew 1%, while Bobbi Brown fell 31% and Jo Malone declined 2%.

Cetaphil from Galderma grew 58% in September. P&G sales fell 20%, Shiseido declined 24%, and LVMH contracted 26% against a 42% comparison from last year. La Prairie grew 22% and Nivea grew 7%, leading to 1% growth for Beiersdorf.

Local Chinese beauty brands Grain Rain and Mao Geping were the largest share winners. Proya grew 1% and Mao Geping grew 26%. Kans recorded a 49% sales decline and lost 1.3% market share.

The data tracks e-commerce across Tmall, Taobao, JD, and Douyin platforms.

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