Print

Mail

wiki links

Cosmetics makersprefer own-brands

To achieve a better market share and fight against razor-thin margins, Watsons and Cosmed (康是美), the nation's two largest personal-care retailers, aim to boost the proportions of their own-brand product items this year.

Own-brand labels refer to the products that carry retailers' names as the brand names, with price tags generally cheaper than those of competing goods.

At Watsons, which had 402 stores the end of last year, saw 5 percent of its total sales over the past year come from own-brand products, including shampoos, wet tissues, moisturizers, toothpastes and toothbrushes, among others, marketing communication director Brenda Kou (寇碧茹) said at a marketing campaign yesterday.

The company plans to extend the range of its own-brand product line this year, she said, although she declined to give a sales target.

Watsons' low-key attitude in releasing financial figures is partly due to the retail industry's slow performance last year, hard hit by consumer credit risks that broke out in 2005.

According to Ministry of Economic Affairs statistics released last week, the nation's drugs, cosmetics and cleaning products in retail posted revenues of NT$134.2 billion (US$4.08 billion) last year, up 2.46 percent from a year ago -- the lowest year-on-year growth level since 2002.

Adding 22 new stores and giving a facelift to 41 outlets, Watsons recorded single-digit growth in sales last year. It expects to open five to eight stores this year, bringing the total number to around 410, Kou said.

Smaller rival Cosmed, owned by President Drugstore Business Corp (統一生活事業), also vowed to strengthen the presence of own-brand items to drive up sales volumes.

Cosmed president Tony Tsai (蔡篤昌) said last week that the company will launch a wide variety of own-brand cosmetics and personal care items this year, produced by first-line manufacturers but carrying much cheaper price tags.

"Revenues of these products will account for 6 percent of our total sales, up from 2 percent last year," Tsai said.

He said that since Taiwan does not have strong "national brands," own brands and private brands are allowed space to develop.

With a strong net increase of 47 stores last year, Cosmed operated 210 outlets at the end of last year, with its revenues shooting up more than 20 percent from a year ago while profits were up 30 percent.

Its ambition has also extended to the other side of the Taiwan Strait and is one of the vanguards employed by its parent company President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), operator of 7-Eleven, to tap into the potential market.
This story has been viewed 1380 times.