(Yicai) Sept. 13 -- The Chinese market for perfume is entering a “golden age,” according to industry insiders, after robust growth over the past two years offset a drop in foundation and lipstick sales by the leading makeup brands.

“Perfume is our ‘treasure’ now,” said Ma Xiaoyu, vice president of L'Oréal China and general manager of its high-end cosmetics department. “Sales will rise rapidly in the next three to five years like makeup products did before.”

Global perfume giants noted opportunity in China and entered the market years ago, with high-end brands such as L'Oréal, Estée Lauder, Coty, and Shiseido introducing many products since 2019. L'Oréal brought Maison Margiela, Viktor & Rolf, and Mugler to China between 2019 and 2021, while Estée Lauder introduced Frédéric Malle and Kilian in 2020 and Le Labo this year.

Perfume sales in China have soared over the past three years compared with globally, data from market researcher Euromonitor International showed. The Chinese market expanded 10.6 percent in 2020 and 39 percent in 2021, while the rest of the world shrank.

It will expand an average 20 percent annually from this year to 2028, reaching CNY53.9 billion, according to Qianzhan Industry Research Institute.

A big part of the global perfume market’s development will be in China, said Karim Lisi, VP of Fine Fragrance Asia Pacific business development at Germany's Symrise, adding that the Chinese market will go on growing in the next five years.

The number of international brands of perfume and other fragrance products in China has at least doubled over the past four years, according to Lin Jing, senior vice president at Eternal Group, China's largest perfume sales agent. Perfume sales in the country will rise in the next three to five years, and the industry is entering a “golden age,” she noted.

Eternal’s sales will likely total more than CNY20 billion (USD2.7 billion) this year thanks to the market picking up, it said in a report jointly released with Kantar China.

Editor: Martin Kadiev