As the life quality improved, consumers from devloping markets switch their attention from basic needs to the persuit of beauty. It definitely boosted the demand of cosmetic products, especially in the market of China Mainland and South East Asia. The rising of demand led to the rapid development of the cosmetic trading industry. To seize the opportunities in the market, retailers can either source domestic products, or import prodcts from international brands, which is preferred by the Chinese consumers. Hence, in this article, we will briefly introduce the common sourcing channels of imported cosmetic products in China.

Generally speaking, there are two types of common sourcing channels of imported products, General Trade and Cross-border Trade.

General Trade

General Trade refers to import or export trading practices conducted by enterprises with import and export business right. Objects traded in accordance with these practices are called General Trading Goods.The inbound souce of most brand counters and franchised stores is General Trades. Cosmetic products sold at these venues are either imported directly, or manufactured overseas with Chinese labels for the purpose of imbound selling.Custom declaration and clearance procedures of these products are completed, with tariff fully charged. Hence, these products are eligible for online and offline sales in the market of China Mainland.

Cross-border Trade

Cross-border trade refers to the the practices to import products from overseas market. Products imported with this practices, which are called Cross-border Trading Products, usually cater to markets other than China Mainland.Hence, there are no Chinese labels on them. Theoretically, Cross-border Trading Products stored in bonded warehouses haven't entered the Chinese market yet.Only online platforms integrated with the bonded warehouse system are allowed to sell these products.

It's well-know that there are multiple sources for imported cosmetic products. For of them tooks the majority of the market share.

1. European Channel

The most significant advantage of European channel is the competitive cost, variety of product types and high profitability.However, the disadvantages of effort-consuming process of source tracking, low volume of shipment, and long turnaround time for shipping, are also inconvenient truth.

2. South Korea DFS

Cosmetic products from Hong Kong DFS are identical to those from South Korea DFS except for the Barcode and some details of packaging.Only up to 3 days are needed if delivery takes place in HK. Meanwhile, importers favor this channel because of its large amount of cash commodity and popularity. However, cost for HK DFS is relatively higher.

3. Hong Kong DFS

Cosmetic products from Hong Kong DFS are identical to those from South Korea DFS except for the Barcode and some details of packaging.Only up to 3 days are needed if delivery takes place in HK. Meanwhile, importers favor this channel because of its large amount of cash commodity and popularity. However, cost for HK DFS is relatively higher.

4. Hainan DFS

A brand new option for cometic products import, yet it's not commonly used.Products from Hainan DFS are not widely-accepted by most importer at the very begining. However, the domestic demand for imported cosmetic products dramatically exceeds its supply.Meanwhile, there are some hot picks with competitive prices are released, which became the incentives for importer to select Hainan DFS as there important source.The advantage for Hainan DFS is the quick turnaround of delivery, large inventory volume with trackable sources. Some of the products are competitive in terms of pricing but still, most of them are relatively costly.

On top of these sourcing channels, product quality and sustainable sourcing channels are the core of the cosmetics trading business model. Retailers should select channels by matching the competitive edges of each sourcing channels with the its own business model. To help retailers select the matched sourcing channels, Hoyip International can provides one-stop premium sourcing and distribution services with the most updated information from the market, and enhance the competitive edge of our partners.

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