The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Strategic decision · 2020
NYX Cosmetics closed its 5 Hong Kong stores as a 'business strategy readjustment'
L'Oréal's trendy makeup brand pulled out of Hong Kong and Macau in August 2020, three years after entering, citing a strategy readjustment.
NYX Cosmetics · L'Oréal · 2020-08-10
What happened
NYX Cosmetics, the L'Oréal-owned makeup brand known for its affordable, trend-driven products, entered Hong Kong around 2014 and opened three flagship stores — in Sha Tin, Mong Kok, and Tuen Mun — plus two counters in department stores. On August 10, 2020, the brand announced via Facebook that it was exiting Hong Kong and Macau, calling it a 'business strategy readjustment'.
The exit followed NYX's departure from Malaysia in July 2020, where it had also closed six stores. The brand had no online e-commerce presence in Hong Kong or Macau and was not available through local marketplaces. A farewell sale offered up to 40% off, and customers were told to redeem membership points before September 15. L'Oréal Hong Kong had laid off about 60 staff — roughly a third of its brand division — the month before.
Hong Kong's retail sector was already under pressure from the 2019 protests and COVID-19, which crushed foot traffic and tourist spending. NYX's withdrawal was part of a broader pattern: international beauty brands that had entered Asia on the wave of global cosmetics trends found their standalone stores uneconomical once the novelty faded and tourism collapsed.
Why it happened
- NYX entered Hong Kong in 2017 during the global cosmetics boom but built no online channel — when foot traffic fell, the brand had no way to reach customers
- The exit was part of a broader Asia retreat: Malaysia closed in July 2020, Hong Kong and Macau in August, leaving the brand without a standalone presence in multiple markets
- Hong Kong's retail environment was hit by overlapping crises — the 2019 protests and COVID-19 — which crushed tourist spending and foot traffic in shopping malls where NYX's flagships were located
- Without e-commerce or third-party marketplace distribution, the brand's entire local revenue depended on physical stores. When those closed, the revenue went to zero
The lesson
A brand that enters a market without e-commerce exits it entirely when the stores close. Online presence is not a luxury — it is the only exit that is not a retreat.
Aftermath
NYX Cosmetics left Hong Kong and Macau entirely. Products remained available in other markets through L'Oréal's broader distribution network, but the brand's standalone stores — which had been the primary point of connection with local customers — were gone. The exit was one of several international beauty-brand withdrawals during the pandemic, reflecting a structural shift away from mono-brand retail in Hong Kong.
Sources
- HK01 — L'Oréal旗下NYX宣布撤出香港將全線結業 (10 August 2020; 5 outlets, farewell sale 40% off, L'Oréal laid off 60 staff)
- Inside Retail Asia — LA's NYX Cosmetics quits Hong Kong (11 August 2020; 6 sales points, Facebook announcement, business strategy readjustment, Malaysia exit, Sep 15 points deadline)
- Time Out Hong Kong — NYX Professional Makeup is exiting the Hong Kong and Macau market (12 August 2020; 3 flagships + 2 counters, Macau counter)
- Inside Retail Asia — NYX to shut all of its Malaysian stores (2 July 2020; 6 stores, sister-market exit)
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