L'Oréal has denied claims that it is laying off staff and closing its office in Hong Kong, China.
The official statement released by the French beauty giant follows rumours earlier this week that it had considered a merger between its Hong Kong office and mainland operations.
"We continuously evaluate and optimize our organization structure, both locally and globally, to ensure it adapts to the evolving market ecosystem and changing consumer expectations," a spokesperson for L'Oréal told Cosmetics Business.
"Hong Kong and the neighbouring cities in China’s Greater Bay Area are increasingly interconnected.
To capitalise on the integrated market ecosystem and shifting consumer dynamics, we are transforming to a new and modern organisation structure that drives mutual benefits and stronger synergy between our Hong Kong and Mainland China organizations."
"The new organisation combines the strengths and expertise of both markets, particularly Hong Kong’s retail excellence and Mainland China’s strong capabilities in digital and e-commerce, thereby enabling us to better serve consumers in Hong Kong and Mainland, especially in the Greater Bay Area."
L'Oréal Hong Kong was established in 1983 as a subsidiary of the L'Oréal Group.
The French giant is aiming to grow 5% in China in 2025 as it looks to secure a better footing in the challenging beauty space.
The optimistic outlook followed “encouraging signs” so far this year from the world’s second-largest beauty market, said L'Oréal’s North Asia and China CEO Vincent Boinay.
“The numbers are getting better and the target of 5% is not only the target for Chinese growth this year, but also the target of L'Oréal in China, by the way," said Boinay during a conference in Shanghai on 1 April 2025.
China has proven to be a sticking point for a number of luxury beauty businesses in recent years amid the country’s continued struggles to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Estée Lauder Companies and Kao Corporation both cited a reduced demand for prestige beauty in mainland China as the reason for their lagging sales.
Cosmetics Business has contacted L'Oréal for a comment.
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