NYX Cosmetics closed its 5 Hong Kong stores as a 'business strategy readjustment'

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.

Closed all 5 Hong Kong and Macau stores in August 2020, part of a broader Asia retreat after Malaysia, leaving no standalone presence and zero local revenue.

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

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.

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.