LF Beauty: meeting Asian consumers' needs has 'never been more challenging'

By Lucy Whitehouse +, 13-Jul-2016, cosmeticsdesign-asia

The president of LF Beauty, a third party manufacturer and supplier, has spoken of the challenges and opportunities being posed for beauty by the Asia market.

The article outlines that it has never been more challenging, while there have never been more opportunities for brands to satisfy the customers’ needs. According to Raymond “Asian beauty is now setting the pace for the world”. China’s customers have a rising demand for K-beauty products, whereby Korean brands face the challenge of acting with insider knowledge of the Chinese market.

Indeed, the Korean International Trade Association found out that Korean companies accounted for 22.1% of China’s imported cosmetics in 2015, closing the gap with the French who have a market share of 30.6%. During the first seven months of the year, China’s imports of cosmetics products rose 36.1% to $1.67 billion.

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ABC NEWS - CAIRO — Jan 31, 2016, 6:54 AM ET

Egypt has placed new import duties on luxury goods, applying a presidential decree aimed at steering demand toward local products.

Cairo airport official Mohammed Mahmoud says Sunday that the decree issued last week raises taxes 10 percentage points to 40 percent.

The affected goods include household appliances, consumer electronics -- including game consoles and stereo equipment -- clothing, perfumes, pens, lighters, watches and nuts.

The move comes as Egypt attempts to shore up dollar reserves and make sure they are used for essential products like food commodities, industrial equipment, raw materials and medicine.

The economy is still reeling from years of turmoil following the 2011 overthrow of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, and many importers have turned to a black market for dollars in order to pay for imported goods.

[BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]