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Tag: Helena Rubinstein

  • Helena Rubinstein ‘is back’ in travel retail channel

    Helena Rubinstein ‘is back’ in travel retail channel

    Uber-premium cosmetics brand Helena Rubinstein “is back” in travel retail, launching this week the first of a series of initiatives tapping into the Chinese market in particular.

    The L’Oreal-owned brand, founded by Rubinstein herself in 1902, launched a three-day experiential pop-up at The Shilla Hotel in Seoul, a stone’s-throw from the giant Shilla Duty Free department store which draws thousands of predominantly Chinese shoppers every day. More than 30 KoLs from China and South Korea were there, on hand to watch one of the brand’s ambassadors, retired Hong Kong actress Cherie Chung open the event.

    It marked the first travel retail Asia pop-up for the brand, which would not have been possible without the support of The Shilla, said Petrina Kho, GM of Helena Rubinstein at L’Oreal Travel Retail Asia Pacific.

    Kho admits Helen Rubinstein has been “pretty quiet” in the marketplace for the past few years,  “but I think that L’Oreal was waiting for us to have all the right products in place first”.

    Kho says Chinese consumers are a big part of the global cosmetics market now and driving strong growth in the premium cosmetics market in travel retail across Asia.

    A spokesman from The Shilla said Helena Rubinstein sales this year are double those of last year, largely driven by the flagship product the Powercell Skinmunity serum which Chinese have embraced despite its premium price point.

    Kho says the premiumisation trend is leading the skincare market growth. “Helena Rubinstein is at the forefront of that because it is the most luxurious skincare brand and obviously the premium-skincare wave is benefiting us.

    “We felt this was the right place to get Helena Rubinstein out, and to partner with The Shilla this year. We want people to know that Helena Rubinstein is back and we want to start engaging with new consumers and our existing consumers.”

    Next year, the brand will be ramping up its activities in travel retail, she says.

    “I can tell you I am extremely excited for 2020. We are just getting started.”

    This week’s pop-up execution included a series of QR code-driven installations describing the history of the brand and sharing the philosophies of its founder, who died in 1965. It also gave visitors an experiential skin test and treatment experience.

    Kho says Chung, and another brand ambassador, fellow famous Chinese actress Faye Wong, are cutting through for Helena Rubinstein because they are well known among more mature consumers. And that demographic is now passing the baton to younger ones.

    “I’ll tell you an experience I had in a home where we were in a store and I saw a mom and daughter shopping. Mom was introducing her daughter to the brand and I thought that was such an amazing moment, because, you know that the brand has crossed the generation and when your mom is introducing something to your daughter, it’s almost like your personal KoL because she’s talking about the efficacy of the brand.”

    Kho describes Faye and Cherie as superstars. “They continue to be extremely healthy. Today the MC asked [Cherie] ‘What are your secrets for beauty?’ She said ‘It’s all about prevention. It’s all about protection, but also make sure that you exercise’.

    “I love that it is such down-to-earth advice. These are strong women and they are extremely empowering. And I think they have that credibility, to tell about their experience about beauty and about empowering themselves.”

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  • Sour note for Lancome-sponsored concert

    Sour note for Lancome-sponsored concert

    Make-up brand Lancome, along with other stores owned by French cosmetics giant L’Oreal, closed in Hong Kong yesterday in the face of protests over the cancelling of a Lancome-sponsored concert featuring a pro-democracy singer.

    As well as Lancome’s booth at Lane Crawford, Times Square, Yves Saint Laurent Beaute and Helena Rubinstein’s booths, as well as Shu Uemura’s store, were all closed. Lancome’s office at Times Square was also shuttered. In Causeway Bay, Lancome counters in Sogo and Hysan Place were both closed, while those for other brands under L’Oreal, such as Shu Uemura, were open.

    Dozens of protesters earlier crowded the Lane Crawford store in Times Square accusing Lancome of bowing to China by cancelling the concert, starring cantopop singer Denise Ho Wan-sze.

    Carrying yellow umbrellas – a symbol of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, which is supported by Ho – and banners in Chinese, English and French, the protesters were shouting: “L’Oreal! No self-censorship.”

    Hong Kong internet users and political activists have also vowed to boycott all brands under the L’Oreal banner, including Lancome, Kiehl’s, Shu Uemura and The Body Shopimes, a tabloid published by the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper, criticised Lancome for working with Ho. This sparked calls online in China to shun Lancome’s business on the mainland.

    “Tough times”

    Ho says she was saddened by the cancellation of her concert.

    “I am quite shocked that a global brand such as Lancome … would succumb to the pressure from Chinese tabloid news or the Chinese market,” says the 39-year-old singer.

    “In Hong Kong we have been going through really rough times,” she says. “Most of we celebrities wouldn’t dare to speak out for ourselves because we know that self-censorship is really serious right now in Hong Kong. But I wouldn’t think that worldwide brands such as Lancome or L’Oreal would succumb to this kind of pressure.”

    L’Oreal, which counts China as its second strongest market for sales behind the US, says it cancelled the concert because of safety concerns.

    Booked to perform on June 19, Ho wrote on her Facebook page that Lancome’s decision was self-censorship. “When a brand like Lancome has to kneel down to a bullying hegemony… the world’s values have been seriously twisted.”

    Meanwhile, the controversy has escalated on the mainland, with internet users threatening to boycott a host of Hong Kong companies tied to billionaire Richard Li Tzar-kai, whose company PCCW owns the Moov fitness app, which suggested on Monday that it would “employ Denise Ho permanently”.

    Li’s family is also involved with such companies as Johnson and Johnson, Listerine and Watsons. Ho is a spokesperson for Listerine.

    PCCW says that while Richard Li and Moov respect freedom of expression and staunchly oppose Hong Kong independence, Moov has no intention to engage in political matters, and the expression “permanent employment” was used before online comments linked the message to political discussions.

    Meanwhile, Ho says Lancome should stand firm on its core values and moral standards. The singer was  among more than 200 people arrested as the pro-democracy protests ended in December 2014. She was blacklisted by mainland media along with singer Anthony Wong Yiu-ming.