The Asian cosmetics market: The "Looks.com" case study

Résumé du document

By the way of listing its products for sale on the website LOOKS.COM, a manufacturer will get various advantages, and also some disadvantages. Obviously, the aim for LOOKS.COM is that the advantages overcome the drawbacks, so that the manufacturer will be likely to list its products in that way. It is a real dilemma for the manufacturer to list or not its products for sale on LOOKS.COM at a price lower than the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). By listing their products for sale on LOOKS.COM, the manufacturer will be able to reach a larger amount of customers than he would in another way, that is to say he will get a larger customer base.

Extraits

[...] The website is a flexible tool, used to appeal to a maximum amount of customers. For instance, the website's first-page has a great importance for branding. By using it efficiently, the company can develop considerably the brands' awareness, in the mind of the potential customers. LOOKS.COM can really be arranged to manufacturers' choice. - Not only is LOOKS.COM a website, but it is a real kind of community. This will most likely enhance the loyalty of the customers, and therefore increase sales even more. Indeed, in cosmetics of the sales are repeat purchases. [...]

[...] The Asian cosmetics market: The “Looks.com” case study Questions 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages for a manufacturer listing its products for sale on looks.com? 2. How effective is Robbie Jessel's plan to position LOOKS.COM as a duty free retailer and/or to encourage manufacturers to pass along a percentage of the extra margin they retain (through selling to LOOKS.COM versus the distributor) in persuading manufacturers to list their products with LOOKS.COM? 3. If you were Jessel, how would you approach manufacturer and distributors to solicit their brands for listing on LOOKS.COM? [...]

[...] As a consequence, considering those two elements linked together, it means that manufacturers will increase their profit margin and their sales volume in the same time, meaning a double effect on their revenues If you were Jessel, how would you approach manufacturer and distributors to solicit their brands for listing on LOOKS.COM? In my opinion, the way I would approach the manufacturer and distributors would be very important. Since I would want them to list their products on LOOKS.COM, I would try my best to get them to do it. Basically, I would first approach them presenting all the advantages of this practice (question 1). The fact is that the advantages clearly overcome the disadvantages. [...]

[...] Then, what I would advise the manufacturers is that they should sign up and let us list their products on our website LOOKS.COM because they would then earn a much higher profit than they would through parallel importing. In the same time, they would be able to increase their sales volume which is not a negligible matter. My strategy would finally be to make them feel compelled to list their products on LOOKS.COM if they do not want to lose an opportunity to increase the sales volume and the profit in the same time. [...]

[...] This means he would be able to charge a lower price than bricks and mortar counterparts. This is a real competitive advantage. - There is quite a huge possible customer base to get. Since the target market is quite large, the number of customers is even larger. - This kind of cosmetics products is perfect for internet retailing because it has a high value per weight ratio, those products are not very fragile, not very perishable. Their size suits this kind of activity where shipping is an obligation. [...]