548 Striking Sales

Common people were taken by surprise by the overwhelming advertising, the franchise stores that sprouted like bamboos after the rain, the giant posters in all municipalities, and all the news reported by the fashion media.

The L’Oréal agencies in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore were ordered to expand as soon as possible. They were determined to get a share of the large Chinese market, which was their final destination in Asia.

After his harsh previous presence in China, Qin Guan returned to his home country with L’Oréal like a king.

There were overwhelming advertisements of L’Oréal on TV, which made Chinese men survey themselves carefully. They had been taught that gentlemen should also pay attention to their appearance. Large pores, blackheads and oily skin were not a symbol of masculinity, but a skin problem.

More and more men felt compelled to buy professional cleansing lotion. They didn’t want to share their products with their wives anymore.

Even the fragrance of cologne could result in more invitations from their female colleagues. Everyone had the same reaction to the advertisement.

We could date foreign girls if we looked neat enough. Men also have the right to be beauty-conscious.

The counters at shopping malls couldn’t meet the demands of ordinary people, while the cosmetics shelves at large chain supermarkets like Carrefour and Wal-mart were decorated. 

Smaller shelves were filled with household products. The familiar foreign brand had conquered them.

To satisfy Chinese customers, they developed more and more products targeted at Asian women. As the trend spread, people remembered Qin Guan.

"He is Xuzhu, I remember him! He is still as handsome as ever!"

"It's said that he is studying abroad."

"He has captivated foreigners! He is an honor to us all. I’ll buy something to support him!"

Although L’Oréal products were much more expensive than domestic products, some people still felt inclined to buy them.

After advertising non-stop for one month, the sales report finally reached the L’Oréal headquarters in China.

With 853 million RMB, the Chinese market had achieved the second highest L’Oréal sales all over the world. The consuming potential of the Chinese market was terrifying!

The sales of a single product for men ranked eighth in the total sales volume, which took the management team by surprise.

"The person in charge of the advertisement should be rewarded for their good vision!"

"It was wise to choose Gong Li and Qin Guan as the brand ambassadors. Ask the PR Department to pay more attention to local Chinese actors."

"Yes, the market is large enough, so we can just focus on Chinese stars when choosing representatives in Asia."

"Agreed!"

Their objective for choosing Asian ambassadors had been achieved after that shocking sales report. If other Asian stars found out about this, they would get annoyed. This could be just blamed on the other countries’ smaller population though.

Unlike L’Oréal’s mass-oriented promotion, Tiffany adopted a more royal style. By cooperating with the Chinese Jewellery Association, the Chinese Brand Development Promotion Organization and a local diamond tycoon, it began its business in China in a very high-end manner. They only opened flagship stores in a few big cities in China.

They opened luxury stores in the most prosperous shopping centers. The glass walls, uniform decorating style, large halls and considerate assistants of the stores showed the company’s determination to take over the Chinese market.

As the economic center of China, Shanghai became the first choice of the high-end jewellery brand. They opened six stores there and five stores in Beijing, which had a very large population. The fact that it was a political and cultural center also played a role.

Two stores opened in Tianjin, the port city in Northern China, which enjoyed a remarkable geographic location.

Guangzhou and Shenzhen got a store each. The two neighboring cities were in the lead when it came to rising trends in Southern China.

There were also stores in Chongqing, Shenyang, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Xi’an, Qingdao, Jinan, Harbin and Kunming, which were all important provincial capitals.

This was the first time Chinese people were getting in touch with foreign jewellery and concepts, such as miniature limited designer jewellery.

This amused the jade-carving masters, as well as traditional jade accessory brands. In their opinion, this was the trite expression of Chinese ancestors. In ancient China, people strived to turn waste into treasure.

It was such a stereotype!