Feature: Australian cosmetic retailer getting arms around China's e-commerce tailwinds

SYDNEY, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Launched on China's e-commerce platform for nearly two years, Australian beauty retailer powerhouse Mecca has built up its global influence by showcasing Australian leading beauty brands to more Chinese customers.

As one of Australia's most popular online and offline cosmetic platforms, Mecca houses more than 150 brands. In 2020, Mecca was launched in the Chinese market via the Tmall Global platform, an online marketplace to purchase imported products.

"Aligning with the growing beauty industry in China, we have seen rapid growth over the past two years on the Tmall platform, our followers have increased to over 100,000 members with a total of 34 brands in our portfolio, with plans to continue expanding," Alex Lu, head of MECCA e-Commerce China, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

China has always been committed to a high-standard opening up and welcoming foreign investment. The country remains a hotspot for foreign investors seeking predictable market opportunities at a difficult time amid the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the country's unremitting efforts to optimize its business environment.

Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 25.6 percent year on year to 379.87 billion yuan (56 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of the year, official data showed.

"Entering the Chinese market has always been one of our goals. China's beauty industry is one of the fastest growing sectors with a highly diverse and digitally savvy customer base, we know that there is an appetite for cosmetics in this market."

Lu added variety has always been Mecca's strength, and as such it was well-positioned to meet the demand of a wide range of Chinese customers who care about quality cosmetics.

"Through a comprehensive understanding of the market, we know that there is huge demand and consumption potential in the China market and paired with MECCA's magic, we could be very competitive," Lu added.

Harnessing the power of Chinese social media, the company has a team in China that livestreams regularly on social platforms to cultivate, brand build, and engage its loyal customer base. Some Chinese influencers will also collaborate with them to highlight various Australian beauty brands, such as its own in-house brand -- Mecca Cosmetica.

"We also get inspired by the purchase models in China and will see if it can be integrated back into our Australian business," said Lu.

"We have conducted several successful livestreams in Australia, and we are exploring options for this to be a more regular occurrence through various social media channels such as WeChat and Instagram."

Lu pointed out some key differences between Australia's and China's e-commerce environment. In China, online marketplaces are wildly popular and Chinese consumers are much more accustomed to making online purchases through a few clicks on their phones.

"However, after years of highly developed online purchasing mechanisms, we have seen a shift in customer sentiment as some consumers may now feel that meeting the endless requirements to redeem promotions is quite cumbersome and tiring, especially during festival promotions on the platform."

"Yet, this will not affect China to be the first or second largest premium beauty market globally," added Lu. "The potential for consumption is still prevalent and it's definitely an attractive market for emerging brands."