Mall Giant CR Mixc Lifestyle Launches Self-Operated Beauty Retail Brand

Recently, an account named "MIXC BEAUTY" debuted on Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese lifestyle and shopping platform.

With over 2,600 followers, the account describes itself as a "self-operated beauty brand under China Resources Mixc Lifestyle" (CR Mixc Lifestyle). It has already established a physical presence in three major Chinese cities: Kunming, Zhengzhou, and Changsha.

According to its posts, MIXC BEAUTY represents a new venture into the beauty space for CR Mixc Lifestyle. By partnering with global luxury beauty brands, the retailer aims to bring premium boutique shopping experiences directly to local consumers.

This launch serves as a formal declaration of CR Mixc Lifestyle's entry into beauty retail. While the move has surprised some market observers, the company's strategic shift has actually been underway for some time.

Why It Matters

As traditional commercial real estate developers face slowing growth, China's largest mall operators are leveraging their massive foot traffic and loyalty programs to build self-operated retail brands. This shift bypasses traditional distributors and puts landlords in direct competition with established beauty retailers like Sephora.

The Paper Trail

In its 2024 annual report, CR Mixc Lifestyle introduced its "ecosystem business" as a third core pillar alongside its traditional property management and commercial operations sectors.

The company explained the strategy as leveraging its massive customer traffic to expand into upstream and downstream supply chains, offering ecosystem services that include self-operated cosmetics and cultural operations.

In its debut year, the self-operated cosmetics business generated 26 million RMB ($3.6 million USD) in revenue.

During its 2025 earnings call, management noted that commercial real estate is shifting away from traditional property development toward brand operations, channel integration, and lean management. In this evolving landscape, industry leaders are expected to consolidate resources and drive operational efficiency.

Launching a self-operated beauty brand is a direct execution of this strategy.

Last August, the company issued a procurement notice for a middle-end system dedicated to its self-operated beauty business. Around the same time, it began aggressively recruiting for cosmetics marketing and operations roles, laying the groundwork for MIXC BEAUTY's debut.

This is not the parent group's first foray into beauty. Sixteen years ago, China Resources Group launched "VIVO," a health and beauty retail chain targeting urban professionals. VIVO expanded to Hong Kong and over 18 mainland cities, but struggled to scale. It ultimately halted operations in late 2015.

While VIVO was positioned as a mass-market competitor to Watsons, the newly launched MIXC BEAUTY is aiming higher, positioning itself as a direct rival to Sephora.

MIXC BEAUTY operates essentially as a department-store-style beauty boutique curated directly by the mall operator. For example, at the Changsha MixC mall, the MIXC BEAUTY international cosmetics corridor features luxury brands like Chanel, Dior, La Mer, Yves Saint Laurent, and Prada. These brands are sourced through buyers and direct brand partnerships, with CR Mixc Lifestyle managing the retail operations.

While the complete brand portfolios for the three initial locations have not been fully disclosed, beauty retail has clearly become a key growth engine for the company.

Built-In Advantages in a Challenging Market

Though listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as a property management company, CR Mixc Lifestyle's business model is far from traditional.

In 2025, the company reported 18.02 billion RMB ($2.5 billion USD) in revenue. Property management accounted for 60.2% (10.85 billion RMB), while commercial operations contributed 38.6% (6.96 billion RMB). However, commercial operations serve as the primary profit driver, contributing 68% of total gross profit (4.36 billion RMB).

This profitability is driven by its shopping mall business, which boasted a gross margin of 75.9% in 2025, with mall operations alone reaching an 82% gross margin.

By the end of 2025, the company managed 207 shopping malls. Management plans to open 14 new or renovated malls in 2026, with a long-term goal of expanding its managed portfolio to 300 malls.

This massive footprint gives MIXC BEAUTY an unparalleled advantage in securing prime retail locations. This direct-to-consumer retail strategy mirrors a broader industry shift where companies seek greater control over their distribution channels, similar to how fast-growing brands like Sheglam are expanding their physical retail counters globally to capture offline shoppers.

In 2025, the company's 135 operating malls generated 266 billion RMB ($36.8 billion USD) in retail sales, up 23.7% year-over-year—significantly outperforming China's national retail sales growth of 3.7%.

Customer retention is further secured by its unified loyalty program, "Mixc Star." Launched in 2022, the program allows members to earn and spend points across residential properties, rental apartments, hotels, and shopping malls. By the end of 2025, the loyalty program boasted over 83 million members.

These advantages have fueled the company's rapid growth in the sector. In 2025, its self-operated cosmetics business revenue surged 331.5% year-over-year to approximately 112 million RMB ($15.5 million USD).

However, the move comes during a volatile period for brick-and-mortar beauty retail. Sephora's China operations have reportedly faced consecutive losses since 2022, while Watsons China closed a net total of 714 stores between 2021 and 2025.

While some international markets show resilience—for instance, the UK beauty industry reached £28.3 billion despite macroeconomic challenges—the brick-and-mortar landscape in China is undergoing a massive shakeup. Whether CR Mixc Lifestyle's landlord-turned-retailer model can buck these headwinds remains to be seen.