L'Oreal achieves 33% growth in China: company CEO

SHANGHAI - French cosmetic giant L'Oreal achieved a 14-year-record-high growth of 33 percent in the Chinese market in 2018, according to Jean-Paul Agon, chairman and chief executive officer of L'Oreal.

As China slashes value-added tax rate from 16 percent to 13 percent starting April 1, the company plans to reinvest 100 percent of the gains in China to push for the development of business in the market, Agon said in an interview with Xinhua in Shanghai.

Agon foresees China becoming the biggest market for L'Oreal by 2030.

He said China had been the second biggest market for L'Oreal since 2015 and was becoming more and more important to the company.

"When I first visited China and created the first subsidiary with 10 people in a small apartment in 1997, I knew that one day, China and L'Oreal China would be something immense and absolutely great, and China would be the number one business for L'Oreal worldwide," Agon said.

Agon said the company benefited greatly from China's continuous opening-up, especially from China's booming e-commerce, which made it possible for consumers in lower-tier cities to access beauty products.

L'Oreal has brought beauty tech, including AR mirrors that allow consumers to use apps to visualize the colors of their make-up and hair, to the Chinese market, he said.

"Thanks to the research and innovation center in Shanghai, we can create our products in response to the needs of Chinese consumers, and even make some of the products available in other parts of the world," Agon said.

He said L'Oreal was among the first group of companies to register for the second China International Import Expo slated for November in Shanghai. The company has already started preparing for the event in effort to debut new products and innovative ideas.

"I think the coming CIIE is a great project, and a great moment for us to show what we are doing," he said.

According to the CIIE Bureau, more than 30 French companies have signed up for the second CIIE. They had together booked an exhibition area of over 6,000 square meters as of March 15.