WOW COLOUR copied THE COLORIST and expanded to 300 stores — then got sued and shrank

WOW COLOUR was founded in Guangzhou in January 2020 as a beauty retail chain in the '美妆集合店' format — brightly lit stores stocking a mix of domestic and international cosmetics. It expanded aggressively through a franchise model, reaching a peak of around 300 stores across China within two years, becoming the main rival to THE COLORIST 调色师.

By 2022 the contraction had already begun. The franchise model produced inconsistent experiences, product overlap with competitors was high, and repurchase rates were low. Store count dropped to about 135 — less than half the peak — with first-tier cities holding just 21 stores combined. The broader beauty retail bubble that had driven WOW COLOUR's rise was deflating, with HARMAY, HAYDON, and THE COLORIST all shrinking simultaneously.

In 2025, KK Group — the parent of THE COLORIST — sued MINISO and its affiliates (which controlled WOW COLOUR) for trademark infringement. A Chinese court found that WOW COLOUR's store decoration was highly similar to THE COLORIST's and ordered it to stop the infringement. The lawsuit marked the end of WOW COLOUR's attempt to compete through imitation rather than differentiation.