(Yicai Global) Nov. 21 -- Etude House, a beauty brand under South Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific, has closed its flagship store on Alibaba Group Holding's Tmall.

"It is just a short-term adjustment, as the store will reopen in the first quarter of next year," an executive at AmorePacific told Yicai Global. Some of Etude House's physical channels in the Chinese mainland are open, the person added.

Etude House, one of the first foreign cosmetics brands to enter China, gained popularity in the country thanks to good-quality products and fair prices. But after years of development, it said last year it would close its physical specialty stores in the Chinese mainland to shift focus to e-commerce platforms. Etude House's official store on e-commerce site JD.Com is still running.

In addition to Etude House, US low-cost makeup brand Maybelline has also been closing physical stores in the Chinese mainland this year, with counters in Watsons and other comprehensive cosmetics retailers still available.

Overseas firms dominate the Chinese luxury cosmetics market, but they are not as popular as they were years ago in the budget makeup segment, according to experts.

"Trends change quickly in this industry," a professional told Yicai Global. "As a result, brands that were popular 10 years ago are considered outdated now, and such a situation is especially tangible on budget makeup brands."

Global low-cost makeup brands lack price advantage, as Chinese rivals are highly cost-effective, iResearch Consulting Group said in a report. Maybelline priced its lip products between CNY109 and CNY129 (USD15.23 and USD18), while domestic brands Perfect Diary and Colorkey have many lip products on sale for less than CNY100.

In 2020, China-made makeup products were worth CNY12.8 billion (USD1.8 billion), equal to 18.9 percent of the country's total cosmetics industry. By 2023, China-made makeup products will be worth CNY55 billion, a compound growth rate of 23.8 percent between 2021 and 2023, according to data from iResearch.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Futura Costaglione