![]() When asked, the company declined to offer a precise figure, but did say that the brand has been designated a “unicorn start-up enterprise” by Guangzhou’s Government, confirming a valuation north of $1 billion.Ĭ-Beauty brands such as these may look like they have come from nowhere in a short span of time - but looks can be deceiving. In September 2019, the company closed its latest round of funding, led by Hillhouse Capital Group, a private equity firm based in Beijing, Singapore and Hong Kong that valued the company at over $1 billion. It is one of several local giants that few people outside of China have even heard of. The ability to utilise China’s unique social media infrastructure to acquire and more closely interact with consumers is one of the reasons Perfect Diary has become a billion-dollar beauty phenomenon. It is a clever cross-selling strategy that shows just how innovative "C-Beauty" brands have become. Xiao Wanzi and her associates then encourage their “friends” to buy more products from Perfect Diary-operated mini-programs - all within the WeChat eco-system. Later joined by comrades Min Min and Su Su, these fictional characters were designed to act as a virtual friend or jiejie (big sister) to young Chinese consumers looking for beauty guidance.īut rather than limiting itself to messaging from official brand accounts, Perfect Diary has used these personas to infiltrate the private account world of WeChat, engaging with young people in a more intimate way. Into this breach stepped Perfect Diary with its quasi-virtual influencer Xiao Wanzi. “It’s not a good platform to use to talk to consumers about how to use a product,” Sun adds. Though Tmall has proven a fantastic partner for selling ("almost all" of Perfect Diary sales come via the platform according to a company spokesperson who declined to give exact figures for this story), it is not ideal for consultation. “Maybe they bought an eye shadow palette online but the pictures online were not effective at showing them how to use it.” “Xiao Wanzi started because a lot of consumers would ask how to use products,” Perfect Diary’s Marketing Vice President, Christy Sun, explains. Not quite a real-life KOL and not quite a virtual influencer, the face of Xiao Wanzi belongs to an employee (real name undisclosed) at Guangzhou-based Chinese beauty brand, Perfect Diary. ![]() Or, rather, she is but her real name isn’t Xiao Wanzi and everything she says online is produced by a team of content specialists. In fact, Xiao Wanzi isn’t actually a real person at all. Though fans love Xiao Wanzi for her authenticity, she’s not exactly the average Chinese girl next door. In her private WeChat groups (she operates hundreds of them, with a few hundred "friends" in each), she shares tips about skincare and beauty, answers questions from other young people in the group and recommends products. ![]() SHANGHAI, China - Xiao Wanzi looks like a typical woman in her 20s, albeit one with exceptionally good skin. ![]()
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