According to L'Oreal China, sales last year reached 12.05 billion yuan ($1.94 billion), an increase of 12.4 percent from the previous year despite the sales growth rate in the country dropping 5.6 percent lower than the 18 percent registered in 2011.
'Slowdown of the market won't hinder success'
CEO Alexis Perakis-Valat is attributing the company's success in 2012 to innovations, efforts to expand in additional cities and rising e-commerce.
But does note however, that the slowdown in the Chinese market has impacted company sales "a little".
Despite the setbacks, news publication on the region, the China Global Times reports that the country has been the Paris-based beauty company's third biggest market by sales since 2010.
"And for this year, we will continue to capture low-tier city growth opportunity. The beauty industry is very resistant to economic ups and downs,"adds Perakis-Valat, confident that L'Oreal will reach double-digit sales growth in China again this year.
The CEO goes on to highlight that the Lancome brand entered 18 new cities last year, bringing the total number of cities that sell the products in China to 74.
Others note success despite stunt in growth rate
On the subject of the Chinese market, Zhang Bingwu an expert in cosmetics marketing and general manager at Guangzhou Taking Advertising also told the Global Times that he thinks the economic slowdown will not have a negative influence on people's willingness to spend on beauty and cosmetic products.
"Chinese people have already upgraded their consumption habits and they pay attention to their health and looks," he told the publication, noting that besides L'Oreal, other domestic and foreign beauty products makers have also done well in recent years.
Elsewhere, P&G disclosed in its recent 2012 fiscal year report that it realized an average annual growth rate of 17 percent between 2002 and 2012 in China, which made the country the company's second largest consumer goods market globally after the US.