With Wuhan (a city of 11 million and the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak) in lockdown for more than a month, and factories around the country either shut or operating with a skeleton staff, buying a lipstick or face cream would seem to be the last thing on anyone's mind. But in China, beauty spending is on the rise after a sharp drop in sales over the last two months.

A good portion of Chinese beauty brands have shown resilience amid the outbreak, finding ways to sell and promote their products, focusing on online sales and making donations to fatigued hospital workers. As most factories go back to work, the global supply chain has also been slowly recovering. At the beginning of the outbreak, which coincided with the Chinese New Near holiday in mid-January, the nation was ready to spend a big chunk of money on beauty and skin-care product. But after more information was disclosed about the severity of the pandemic, and Wuhan and its neighboring cities were put on lockdown, the appetite for spending disappeared.

The fact that the virus appears to have peaked in China, and that most factories will be up and running by the end of March, means that beauty businesses will be able to switch back to growth mode.

Read full article: Chinese beauty industry shows resilience amid virus outbreak