Perfect Diary owner Yatsen doubles down on skincare, R&D after business overhaul

The Chinese beauty firm has snapped up a string of overseas skincare brands, but it now plans to focus on expanding its existing portfolio

Yatsen Group, the Chinese beauty company behind Perfect Diary cosmetics, plans to deepen its push into skincare and new product research to sustain its growth, after a years-long overhaul of its business that has seen the firm acquire a string of overseas brands.

The Guangzhou-based company will slow its acquisition spree for now and instead focus on expanding its existing portfolio of skincare offerings, while maintaining – and potentially raising – its research and development spending, which currently hovers at 3 to 4 per cent of annual revenue, according to founder and CEO David Huang.

“We still think there will be pretty big potential for our existing brands,” Huang said during a media event at the company’s manufacturing and R&D facility in Guangzhou earlier this week. “At this stage, we will remain focused on growing our existing framework.”

But Huang did not rule out further acquisitions of businesses with strong brand equity and products.