Amazon to highlight online beauty in France

Published: 7-Jul-2009

The Amazon group has opened two online boutiques on its French site, one devoted to cosmetics and beauty care and the other to hygiene and health. It says its aim is to provide a range of thousands of reference perfumes and cosmetic products, body oils, shampoos and deodorants.


The Amazon group has opened two online boutiques on its French site, one devoted to cosmetics and beauty care and the other to hygiene and health. It says its aim is to provide a range of thousands of reference perfumes and cosmetic products, body oils, shampoos and deodorants.

The company already operates online cosmetics sites for German and UK customers but in France is talking in terms of major brands such as Paul Smith, Cacharel, Givenchy, Hugo Boss and Max Mara.

So far Amazon has not obtained any authorisation to distribute cosmetics and fragrances in France in a sector notoriously sensitive to internet commerce. The LVMH group, which controls Guerlain, Givenchy, Kenzo and Dior, and L'Oréal, which owns Cacharel, Ralph Lauren, Lancôme and Armani, have already undertaken a number of legal cases against internet group eBay.

Amazon France has declined to discuss its supply contracts. However, so far a single reference product by Chanel, Allure, is available. This is sold on the site through Cosmetics Solutions.

In the case of Dior marketing is via Escentual and Lancôme is linked to Histoire d'Elodie. A perfumes and cosmetics industry source claimed that these sites, often located in Luxembourg or Ireland, operated on the grey market. Trade was at present minimal but if it exceeded a certain level legal action would be taken against them in France.

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