“South East Asia is experiencing rapid economic growth. As of the end of December last year, the Asian Development Bank put regional growth rate at 6% for 2017,” explained Shou-Kang KAO, Taiwan and South East General Manager, Chlitina.
In May 2018, Chlitina announced it plans to open 50 beauty salons in Vietnam by 2020 through its franchise.
Driving forces
Chlitina states that the region's culture and beauty trends are two core reasons to widen its presence in South East Asia, as Shou-Kang shared: “Cultural proximity played a role in our choice of destinations too. Furthermore, women in South East Asian countries usually share the same outlook on beauty and skin care as Chinese women.”
Rapid development
With such an aggressive growth strategy in place, we asked Shou-Kang KAO, Taiwan and South East General Manager at Chlitina why Vietnam, in particular, was selected as a key market for its expansion.
“We have noticed that the Vietnamese economy is growing fast (6.6% in 2017 and forecast likewise at 6.6% for 2018),” stated Shou Kang.
Strengthening ties
The relationship between Chlitina’s domestic base, Taiwan, and the South East Asian area also played an important role in this decision: “Vietnam was identified as a priority, in part because over the past 20 years or so, Taiwan has developed strong ties with this country through the presence on the island of about 200,000 Vietnamese, among which over 100,000 have settled down here after marrying into Taiwanese families.”
Why Vietnam?
Vietnam has emerged as an increasingly influential cosmetics heavyweight, with a host of industry reports highlighting its significance for beauty companies, with retail brands earmarking it as a key business area.
As beauty products, treatments and e-commerce solutions are on the up, consumers in Vietnam are focusing on brand origin. With premium beauty, the growing middle class demographic and scores of new names entering the market, Vietnam is set to become an increasingly popular choice for APAC names and global players.