Elevating luxury beauty retail across Southeast Asia, LUXASIA wins big at Retail Asia Awards 2024

Against macroeconomic headwinds, LUXASIA continues to lead, invest, and shape the face of luxury beauty in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Asia Pacific omnichannel brand-builder LUXASIA has been recognised as the Luxury Beauty Retailer of the Year in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam at the prestigious Retail Asia Awards 2024. The company has pushed many new frontiers in luxury beauty by bringing new brands, new concepts, and expanding offerings across all categories such as skincare, make-up, fragrance, haircare, and niche beauty.

2023 was a tough year in Southeast Asia. Markets were rocked with many macroeconomic challenges arising from high inflation pressures, geo-political uncertainties, and foreign exchange fluctuations which had significantly dampened sales and consumer sentiments. Furthermore, the return of Chinese tourists has been slower than expected, with lower average spending per tourist. These circumstances notwithstanding, LUXASIA has managed to successfully turn the tide, out-grow the respective markets by numerous folds, as well as drive excellence and expansion in retail, making it a worthy winner for the three markets.

At the heart of its operations is a proprietary Retail Excellence (RX) Framework, powered by in-house apps, technology tools, and back-office systems to level up retail execution and efficiency, covering operations, inventory processes, quality control, and the finesse of customer service. In addition, LUXASIA utilised its solid customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities, powered by customer data collection, which iteratively improves consumer marketing mechanics based on actual responses. Lastly, it has also applied an omnichannel approach to brand-building, ensuring that its online and offline activations and campaigns work in harmony. These apply across all markets. Below are some further highlights by market. 

Malaysia: Consumer-centricity at the heart of eight new boutiques and numerous events 

To cater to the increasing sophistication of Malaysian consumers and to enhance the brand experience and representation of our brand partners, LUXASIA Malaysia realised that greater investment in free-standing stores i.e. boutiques, retail operations, and consumer activation events are a must. Unfortunately, the timing did not seem prime. Malaysia was experiencing some political transitions, lower tourist inflows, as well as weakened consumer sentiments and spending. Furthermore, locals are allocating a greater wallet share to travel and lowering local consumption. Despite these tough circumstances, LUXASIA Malaysia decided to forge ahead. 

In total, the company opened eight new boutiques for labels such as escentials, Acqua di Parma, La Prairie, and Penhaligon’s. Amongst its plethora of events for many brands, the most notable one was a grand regional launch event for the prestigious Bvlgari at the iconic KLCC, adding shine and pride to Malaysia as one of the top destinations for luxury beauty in Southeast Asia. This approach has proven to be successful, as the company grew its top line more than three times faster than the market, at more than 25%. 

Thailand: Targeted approach to driving growth in a challenging and mature beauty market 

Meanwhile, there has been a noticeable slowdown in luxury consumption in Thailand, primarily driven by a slower return of Chinese tourists who spend less per head. Similar to Malaysian consumers, Thais have reallocated their wallet share to other categories including travel, and have grown to be even more prudent and discerning in their beauty purchases.
 
Having been in Thailand for close to thirty years, the company has mastered both the business and nuances of the Thai market. Having built an enviable presence in skincare and fragrances, LUXASIA has decided to further diversify its brand portfolio, growing into the adjacencies of colour cosmetics and niche beauty. This is the primary driver for its retail business growth. In 2023, LUXASIA formed a joint venture with Orveon Global for Laura Mercier to harness combined resources and synergies in brand-building and distribution. It has simultaneously elevated its offerings to local consumers through an expansion of its luxury niche portfolio in the market with a triple opening of Diptyque, Acqua di Parma, and escentials boutiques in the glamourous EmQuartier. This targeted approach to enhance its local business through luxury retail expansion and careful category expansion has led to an impressive net sales growth of ~30%.

Vietnam: Intentional retail growth in line with the land’s expected economic development

In contrast to the relatively more mature and competitive markets of Malaysia and Thailand, Vietnam is slated to enjoy a period of substantial growth as international luxury brands are looking for the next “gold rush”. In this market, consumption of luxury beauty has increased significantly as the middle-class burgeons, mobile penetration increases substantially, and consumers have greater access to information and have also become more sophisticated and brand-conscious.

That said, the rules of the game are different because of how the market is evolving organically. Growth must be pursued swiftly and across all categories simultaneously. In 2023, LUXASIA Vietnam has successfully diversified from a fragrance-heavy portfolio to a multi-category one with luxury skincare and haircare. This was achieved by forging the right partnerships and executing excellent brands launches for the likes of top brands such as the luxury haircare brand AVEDA, as well as prestige Asian skincare brands, SK-II and POLA. Behind the successful launch is a specifically curated distribution strategy to reach only the top retail locations such as Takashimaya Saigon Center and Crescent Mall in Ho Chi Minh City. With its successful initiatives, LUXASIA Vietnam has grown ~30%, which is three times more than the market, elevating Vietnam’s state of play in luxury beauty. Looking ahead, the company aims to bring more desirable colour cosmetics brands, in addition to its current joint ventures with Dior and Guerlain. 

Retail Asia Awards honours companies that have recently launched innovative retail projects or initiatives, as well as industry leaders that have propelled their respective brands to maintain a competitive edge.

The Retail Asia Awards is presented by Retail Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2025 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's exceptional products or initiatives in the Retail industry, please contact Jane Patiag at [email protected].