Chinese beauty brand owner and distributor S'Young International has broken into bricks-and-mortar with its first-ever flagship store in Changsha.
Targeting the high end beauty consumer, the 3200sqft Shuiyangtang store, located in the heart of Changsha's shopping district, invites Chinese consumers to discover S'Young's roster of niche and international beauty brands, including the likes of Pier Auge, EviDenS de Beauté, Jo Loves, Kiko Milano and Lumene.
Aiming to merge innovative technology with a high end retail experience, customers can take an AI-powered beauty test to be matched with a dedicated 'beauty butler', who will provide personalised product recommendations based on their skin type and unique needs.
Inside, shoppers can discover four areas including the Elite Choice space, which features digital artworks and interactive experiences for brands to showcase their products and stories.
Harnessing consumption data from S'Young's online platforms, the space is said to provide a a unique interaction between brands and customers by allowing customers to highlight their favourite products.
The Formulation Lab includes a decorative forest feature
The Formulation Lab, meanwhile, offers an experiential space with a central booth displaying trending brands and products, which will be changed according to the season and current trends.
The nature-themed area also includes a decorative forest feature, which is said to encourage customers to experience the healing power of plants.
The store's Perfume Gallery, meanwhile, allows shoppers to explore a wide variety of niche scents in what is described as “a multi-sensory testing sanctuary” blending visual, taste and smell experiences, while hand-brewed coffee will also be on offer.
The Dream Dresser aims to give customers the beauty blogger experience
Finally, customers can live out their beauty blogger fantasies at the store's Dream Dresser, a dressing table which features adjustable lighting and a focus on niche overseas brands.
Merging the offline and online experience, customers can also scan QR codes to shop products online at Shuiyangtang's e-commerce platforms on Tmall Global, Douyin (China's TikTok) and WeChat, to blend the convenience of online shopping with testing products in person.
"Our goal is to bring beauty to life in a fun and innovative way for our consumers,” said Marshall Chen, co-founder and CEO of S'Young International.
“We want to help every consumer discover their most confident self through the fun, interactive vision of Shuiyangtang."
Jo Malone's Fragrant Mist at the Genesis of Beauty exhibition
To celebrate the new store opening, S'Young is also hosting the Genesis of Beauty exhibition, described as the “world's most exclusive” beauty exhibition displaying rare items from beauty pioneers from the East and West.
The 71000-piece collection includes an exclusive Fragrant Mist art installation by fragrance pioneer and Jo Loves founder Jo Malone with Asian artist Lee Seung Koo, and will be open until 30th November at Changsha's International Finance Square.
The gallery showcases cosmetics collections and key moments in beauty history
S'Young International, founded in 2018, helps international brands enhance their footprint in China's rapidly growing beauty market, which is projected to be worth US$86.7bn by 2025.
