Armani Beauty opens new Tmall store in e-commerce push

Speaking of its brand philosophy, Andrea says Armani Beauty is about being universal and adaptable."When we create a beauty product, we don't do it for a specific woman. It should be universal. With different colors, the mission of the brand is to offer women easy to use prod-ucts that makes their life easier.

"Armani is about perfection and attention to detail. The brand has to adapt to the way women live today and connect with them through WeChat, Instagram and other social networks. We take that into our consideration when we develop new products," he says.

For example, when the brand launched a new foundation called Power Fabric last year, Armani tailored the product to fit with the needs of young women who enjoy taking selfies. The foundation quickly took off and was nicknamed "Instagram foundation" by many of its users, in another example of how Armani tries to build connections with younger generations.

Technology also plays a major role in attracting customers to the Giorgio Armani Beauty online store. Using their mobile phone, shoppers can use an AR-driven interactive feature -Unlock Armani code - to scan for any of the six letters contained in the word "Armani." Those who collect all six letters will have a chance of winning sample kits.

With China's rapid economic development, the beauty product industry has witnessed a boom in recent years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, retail sales of cosmetics in the first 11 months in 2017 increased 13.5 percent from a year earlier to reach 228.5 billion yuan.

Andrea says the main difference between the Chinese cosmetics market and those overseas is that a lot of Chinese women are using makeup for the first time - unlike many other countries, especially in Europe. "It's a huge opportunity to be creative, to dare to use different colors. It's just about finding the color that matches your face and personality. I like Chinese women's dynamic energy when they choose makeup. They're always reinventing," he says.

An Armani Box pop-up store recently opened in Beijing's trendy Sanlitun area, and a range of pop-up store events are planned for 2018, says Andrea.

"Our mission is to always bring something new to our customers in terms of products, service, and brand development. This is why accelerating e-commerce is important for us," he says.