Once known for its rapid rise through an online strategy, personal care brand Laifen is shifting its focus offline.
On November 15, Laifen opened its first offline flagship store at Coco Park in Futian, Shenzhen, and said it will step up its offline retail efforts next year, with plans to enter 20 cities and open 300 stores.
The personal care appliance industry has moved from incremental growth to zero-sum competition. Depending solely on online traffic and price promotions is no longer enough to sustain long-term advantages. As a result, the value of offline channels is being reassessed. These channels serve not only as retail endpoints but also as key venues for brand storytelling, user experience building, and service support.
Laifen is not the first personal care brand to invest in offline expansion. Usmile’s offline strategy focuses on beauty channels and high-end department stores, placing products in Sephora and in beauty zones at malls such as MixC and SKP to broaden its reach from personal care into beauty. Dreame’s offline expansion takes an ecosystem approach. Its experience stores emphasize real-world scenarios, allowing customers to try how its full line of products, including floor washers, robot vacuums, and high-speed hair dryers, work together.
Still, moving offline is complex. It forces personal care brands to confront challenges involving product trials, cost structures, new operational models, and long-term user relationships.
For Laifen, where repurchase cycles for personal care hardware are relatively long, the core question is whether consumers will visit retail stores repeatedly for personal care shopping. The answer will determine whether its offline strategy can take hold.
Laifen’s offline strategy did not start from zero. Between 2021–2024, the company adopted a lighter approach by placing products in large supermarkets such as Walmart and Costco, as well as chain retailers like Sundan and Watsons and premium hotel chains. This allowed Laifen to gain early offline exposure and reach consumers at relatively low cost.
“A key reason we didn’t open independent stores early on was our limited number of SKUs, which wasn’t enough to cover a wide range of consumer needs. Opening stores too soon might not have met expectations for foot traffic or other indicators,” a Laifen representative said.
During that period, the company focused on promoting single breakout products, and environments such as supermarkets and retail chains, given their flexibility and cost control, were better suited for that strategy. This formed the basis of its early offline planning.
The turning point came in 2025. With the launch of its electric toothbrush and shaver product lines, Laifen created a trio of personal care categories that gave it the confidence to operate independent stores.
Within a week of introducing its electric shaver in May, Laifen opened its first offline store in Shenzhen Uniwalk Qianhai. By mid-November, when the flagship store opened, Laifen had expanded to ten stores across Shenzhen.
After six months of testing, the company committed to its plan and announced its 300-store expansion targeting the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle.
Laifen said its future stores will fall into three types: pop-up shops in malls, brand showcase stores, and multifunctional flagship stores. The Coco Park flagship store includes after-sales support, do-it-yourself customization stations, offline product trials, and creative merchandise, in addition to standard retail functions.
During the opening event, Laifen arranged a robot demonstration to blow and dry customers’ hair. Visitors could also try the electric shaver and electric toothbrush at a wash station.
The offline sales mix differs from the online one. While hair dryers remain the dominant online seller, electric toothbrushes, electric shavers, and hair dryers account for roughly one-third each in offline stores. In some locations, electric toothbrushes and shavers even outperform hair dryers.
At the flagship store opening, Laifen emphasized that its offline strategy is tied to the launch of its major factory facility and a clearer roadmap for new product lines. The factory began operations in August, covers more than 200,000 square meters, and employs more than 4,000 people. It vertically integrates mold production, motor manufacturing, and surface coating.
A Laifen representative said that after the electric shaver launched in May, the company faced a production bottleneck that limited sales. With the factory now active and efficiency improved, production capacity met market demand during Singles’ Day.
Laifen also introduced a reliability laboratory built with an investment estimated to be an eight-figure RMB sum. The lab targets a longstanding challenge in Laifen’s growth. During the early rollout of its electric toothbrush line, some users questioned product durability and consistency. The new lab, housed within the factory, provides greater control over cost and quality.
Laifen will launch its second-generation sonic oscillating electric toothbrush in December. The company also said it plans to expand into new product categories next year.
Inside the flagship store, several design elements hint at possible directions. The lighting fixtures are self-developed, and the store’s clean floors and maintenance routines suggest an interest in home cleaning solutions.
When asked whether Laifen will move beyond personal care, a company representative said observers could infer potential categories based on the store’s lights, mirrors, and flooring. Together, these clues suggest that Laifen is expanding beyond personal care in a way that aligns with common trajectories in the home appliance sector.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Ou Xue for 36Kr.