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Trade report Cosmetic Valley & China Beauty Expo BW Confdential talks to n n n members deal with all these challenges. Supporting the industry The organization insists that it is not about providing a one-off subsidy for foreign Cosmetic Valley president expansion, but about giving long-term support Marc-Antoine Jamet about to its members. Cosmetic Valley members say that what they appreciate about the companies overcome some of “ how Cosmetic Valley can help the obstacles of entering and expanding in China Cosmetic Valley has international visibility; it is a What can the Cosmetic Valley bring to companies that want to reference and we beneft from export to China? their image, which is serious, Cosmetic Valley can offer critical French, and reliable mass for doing business, contacts, networks and visibility. The Made in France label is also valued; all our ” small and medium-sized companies can beneft from this. Indemne founder Christine Simon organization is the high level of visibility it How important do you see the ‘made in France’ concept provides internationally and its network of for China? contacts. Support with administrative and People appreciate us for four major logistics issues was also raised as an advantage things. The frst is innovation; we are of being part of the association. leaders in innovation and offer new Michel Barbaise, chairman of product textures, new bottles, and new packaging. Each year we bring 25% new products development company Cegedis and Abo- to the market, which did not previously exist. We have 8,000 researchers and 250 Cosmétiques and vice président of Cosmetic laboratories and so have a huge power that the Chinese recognize. The second Valley comments: “Preparing such a fair alone thing is security and traceability. Our products count among the safest in the world takes at least a year, but with Cosmetic Valley, and this is essential for Chinese people. The third is respect for the environment and things go much faster. The companies here ecology. We support the notions of sustainable development and fair trade. Last but are not competing against each other, but are not least, we bring to the Chinese the magic of France—the Eiffel Tower, castles in helping each other. We represent France as a the Loire Valley—these are a huge selling point. brand and together, we have more weight.” Christine Simon, founder of Indemne agrees: In which felds do the companies particularly need the support of the “Cosmetic Valley has international visibility; it Cosmetic Valley to succeed in China? is a reference and we beneft from their image, What we can offer is the reassurance of making the right contacts. We have which is serious, French, and reliable.” identifed a few reliable partners, whom we can trust and who offer a qualitative However, some say that the association approach. We build safe Franco-Chinese connections. Also, we pull together should put more focus on the regulations issue. procedures and experiences, which enables our members to save time and money. “Cosmetic Valley should communicate more with the Chinese government and their own What should companies focus on when going to China? members. The China policy won’t change and They should be careful about their Chinese partners. Clear and monetized contracts they should tell the French members how the need to be signed, and companies should keep their eyes open, remain lucid and policy works in more detail” says Lorcos’ Zhou. even be a bit tough. They should also know the regulations very well. The legislation A big plus of Cosmetic Valley is the ‘Made in China is very complex: a product can be considered new just because one of its in France’ label, which is seen abroad, and ingredients is new. They should watch out for intellectual property and counterfeit especially in China, as a guarantee of quality. products—this is a big thing here. However, members emphasized that they Today it is maybe harder than before for companies to penetrate China, but the cannot count on this label alone and that their Chinese know that we are the world leader in cosmetics. They still recognize our offer needs to be backed up with real value, position as world champion, so there is no real threat for now. service and expertise. n 80 September-October 2014 - N°19 - BW Confidential