AMERICAN skincare brand Kiehl’s announced that despite strict lockdown restrictions due to the pandemic, the company has grown its sales on the back of its online platform on Facebook, a local executive said.

“[Our online sales] has been doing extremely well, [it grew] five times from March to May in terms of sales value,” Inha Arceo, Kiehl’s Philippines senior product manager, told BusinessWorld during an interview on June 10 via Skype.

The brand has already opened 14 of its 16 brick-and-mortar stores in the country and Ms. Arceo said the “results are very, very encouraging” and that she thinks “we’re actually on the road to recovery,” as some stores were experiencing the same sales from before the quarantine started.

“We’re still seeing positive growth for the brand until the end of the year for both online and offline boutiques,” she said.

And even if the physical stores are now open -— and following proper social distancing measures like limiting the number of people inside the store at one time, she said — Ms. Arceo noted that the digital channel will still grow and said that it got new customers online. She noted that 50% of Kiehl’s Philippines online customers are people who had not tried Kiehl’s before.

The brand’s serums remain the bestsellers with the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution, Powerful Strength Line Reducing Concentrate, and Midnight Recovery Concentrate leading the pack, because “these are the products that have a lot of reviews and a lot of positive feedback from customers who really use them,” Lerizze Tan, product manager, said in the same interview.

“For at least the next few months, we’re expecting less foot traffic but we’re also seeing that customers would buy more in one go — that’s why sales results have been very encouraging for us,” Ms. Arceo said.

The encouraging numbers made it possible for the company to look at opening a new store by the fourth quarter of the year although no concrete plans have been set.

NEW PRE-SERUM
Kiehl’s has been growing its sales numbers despite having lockdown measures in place and the brand, on the back of that success, launched the newest addition to its bestselling serum line: a pre-serum meant to address signs of aging due to skin stressors.

Called the Vital Skin-Strengthening Super Serum (P3,200 for 30ml), the product is said to “protect the skin against stressors that weaken the skin’s barrier” including sun exposure, pollution, stress, lack of sleep, diet, and temperature, all of which can lead to early signs of aging, according to a release.

The serum’s core ingredients include a smaller molecule of hyaluronic acid, which attracts moisture to the skin and the Kiehl’s version is claimed to be small enough to penetrate “eight layers of the skin.”

Other active ingredients include red ginseng root, holy basil, and schisandra berry. These ingredients are meant to “defend skin from stressors while renewing and resurfacing skin’s texture for a smooth, radiant appearance,” said the release.

It should be noted that the serum has denatured alcohol as its fourth ingredient, but Yricka Dela Pena, the brand’s education manager, told BusinessWorld that the alcohol is US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved and is used for the serum’s texture and is “proven safe.”

As a pre-serum, the new Vital serum is recommended to be used before other Kiehl’s serums but it should not be used around the eyes. So the routine would look like this if you use the new serum: Cleanser, toner, eye cream, Vital serum (as pre-serum), serum, moisturizer, and sunscreen (for day).

The product promises to improve skin texture, boost skin radiance, improve resilience, visibly reduce fine lines, and double skin strength within four weeks. It is said to also be suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin.

The Vital Skin Strengthening Serum is available on the Kiehl’s Philippine Facebook page and physical stores. — Zsarlene B. Chua

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