US cosmetics firm digging for gold in China

Mary Kay, the world-leading direct-selling cosmetics producer from the United States, has been benefitting from the increasingly improved business environment in East China's Zhejiang province, said Coco Zhang, vice-president of Mary Kay China.

In April 1995, the cosmetics firm opened its first and only overseas factory in Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Area to manufacture and package products for the rising Chinese market.

Starting from the capital city of Zhejiang, Mary Kay has been expanding into more cities in China over the past 23 years and has established branches in over 30 provinces and municipalities.

The factory in Hangzhou is a technology-featured production base where automatic machines are widely used on assembly lines. The company has announced plans to upgrade the 72,000-square-meter Asia-Pacific production center into one with the added functions of research and development (R&D), production and sales.

Last year, Mary Kay sought to expand its business from cosmetics to the health and well-being market, enlarging its potential customer base from adult women to include the elderly and children.

The business upgrading required a new license. Government departments in Zhejiang offered strong support for the company's transformation and helped Mary Kay get the new license within 45 days, much quicker than expected.

Zhang said that, due to the business environment the government departments have created for foreign-funded companies, Mary Kay is constantly expanding. In October, the company launched a brand new online sales channel to facilitate consumers' shopping and inquiries.

In the future, it will increase investment in R&D and production to grow stronger in China and in the whole Asia-Pacific region, Zhang said.

Cosmetics products from Mary Kay [Photo/VCG]