Orient: September cosmetics retail sales growth rebounds; beauty and personal care brands show divergent performance

Orient released a research report stating that cosmetics retail sales growth rebounded in September, continuing to outperform the overall consumer market. Online channels and brand performance remain divergent. It is recommended to focus on three directions: 1) brand companies with outstanding core product competitiveness and new products that can continue to contribute incremental growth; 2) targets benefiting from structural demand such as premiumization and functional skincare; 3) targets with strong multi-platform operating capabilities that can balance sales growth and expense efficiency. Orient's main views are as follows: Cosmetics retail sales growth rebounded in September, continuing to outperform the overall consumer market In September 2026, total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 4.24 trillion, up 1.1% year on year; retail sales of consumer goods by enterprises above designated size fell 2.1% year on year. Over the same period, retail sales of cosmetics by enterprises above designated size were RMB 39.0 billion, up 5.4% year on year, 0.5 percentage points faster than in August and 4.3 percentage points higher than overall retail sales growth. From January to September, cumulative cosmetics retail sales were RMB 349.1 billion, up 6.1% year on year, 5.0 percentage points higher than cumulative overall retail sales growth, indicating that cosmetics consumption remains relatively resilient. Online skincare transaction value declined month on month in September, with differences in the leading brand landscape across channels According to Qingyan Intelligence statistics, in September, total transaction value of the skincare category across Taotian, JD.com, Douyin and Video Accounts was RMB 20.687 billion, down 8.9% month on month. 1) Online overall: according to Qingyan Intelligence, in September, skincare sales across the four platforms of Taotian, Douyin, JD.com and Video Accounts totaled RMB 20.687 billion, down 8.9% month on month. By brand, La Mer ranked first in skincare sales across the four platforms with RMB 498 million. By platform, on Taotian, L'Oreal and Proya ranked first and second with RMB 139 million and RMB 135 million, respectively; among the TOP20, there were 6 domestic brands in total, whose combined sales accounted for 26.5% of the total list. On JD.com, La Mer ranked first with RMB 270 million; international brands took the top three spots on the list, and MAO GEPING entered the top ten. On Douyin, GMV of facial cleansing and eye care categories totaled RMB 12.08 billion in September; Kans ranked first for the second consecutive time with RMB 322 million, with brand self-broadcasting contributing more than 70%; among the TOP20, domestic brands took 15 places, with combined transaction value accounting for 76.9% of the total list; L'Oreal ranked 4th, the highest-ranked foreign brand. 2) Douyin channel growth performance by brand: based on Chanmama data, in September Proya achieved double-digit growth, MAO GEPING and FOREST CABIN grew by about 50%100%, and Winona and Harbin Fuerjia Technology grew slightly; Shangmei Group's next page maintained relatively rapid growth, and Anminyou grew by more than 100%; Marubi and Love Fire both achieved double-digit growth, while Comfy and Kelijin declined slightly; Feicui declined by double digits, Zhanjia grew by nearly 100%, and performance among brands further diverged. The beauty and personal care sector has adjusted slightly since September, with divergent performance among constituent stocks 1) A-share performance: according to iFind, as of the close on October 20, 2026, the SW Beauty and Personal Care Index had fallen 0.20% cumulatively since September and 21.09% cumulatively since the beginning of the year. Among constituent stocks, since September, the top three gainers were Chongqing Baiya Sanitary Products, Tongling Jieya Biologic Technology and Tianjin Yiyi Hygiene Products, up 67.22%, 23.08% and 8.61%, respectively; the top three decliners were SYoung Group, Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry and Runben Biotechnology, down 17.70%, 15.32% and 12.57%, respectively. Since the beginning of the year, the top three gainers were Tongling Jieya Biologic Technology, Zhejiang Jinsheng New Materials and Chongqing Baiya Sanitary Products, up 50.42%, 28.28% and 6.04%, respectively; the top three decliners were Tianjin Yiyi Hygiene Products, Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry and Xiamen Yanjan New Material, down 39.31%, 38.56% and 37.72%, respectively. 2) Hong Kong stock performance: based on statistics for 13 stocks under the iFind Hong Kong stock SW beauty and personal care classification, since September, FAMEGLOW, EC HEALTHCARE and CHICMAX ranked in the top three gainers, up 55.13%, 21.43% and 8.13%, respectively. Since the beginning of the year, FAMEGLOW, ANGELALIGN and YONGHE MEDICAL ranked in the top three gainers, up 643.33%, 36.07% and 25.46%, respectively. Risk warning: continued weakening of end-consumer demand, new product promotion falling short of expectations, intensifying industry competition, and rising platform traffic costs.