In a striking development within the beauty industry, the luxury skincare brand Shihyo announced the closure of its official website on February 8, signaling a full shutdown of its operations, including the secure destruction of user dataThis marked a significant retreat from the Chinese market, where it had already ceased operations of its Tmall overseas flagship store in JanuaryCurrently, searches for its official storefront on mainstream e-commerce platforms such as Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and JD.com yield no results, indicating a clear absence.

Tracing back to the inception of Shihyo, the brand's origins are backed by a formidable partnershipLaunched in November 2022, Shihyo was a joint venture between the L'Oréal Group, South Korea's Shilla Hotel, and the private equity firm Anchor Equity Partners through a third-party company called LoshianThe Shilla Hotel, the parent company of Shilla Duty Free, is a significant player in South Korea's luxury retail and hospitality sectors, affiliated with the Samsung GroupMeanwhile, Anchor Equity Partners specializes in leveraging growth opportunities in South Korea and North East Asia, bringing a wealth of experience in business operations.

The creation of Shihyo was a merger of L'Oréal's advanced beauty research and development capabilities, Shilla's luxury retail distribution channels, and the financial acumen of Anchor Equity PartnersThis collaboration aimed to develop a uniquely competitive luxury skincare brandAt its launch, Shihyo showcased its ambitious goalsL'Oréal had earlier indicated that its first flagship store, the “Seoul Garden,” would open at The Shilla Hotel in SeoulThis venue was intended to offer consumers an immersive luxury skincare experience alongside a curated selection of high-end products.

The name Shihyo, which symbolizes “the wisdom of time,” was presented as embodying principles derived from "the twenty-four solar terms" of Asia at the onset of its brand promotion

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Its initial product range included twenty-four different herbal ingredient ampoules, with each ingredient harvested according to seasonal cycles and sourced directly from local farmers in KoreaFurthermore, every formula from Shihyo incorporated a signature ingredient called “ShiHyo24,” a nutrient-rich patented concentrate that combines twenty-four herbal components with fermented rice water and ginseng waterHowever, this promotional strategy sparked considerable controversyThe brand’s portrayal of its product inspirations blurred the fact that the twenty-four solar terms originated from China, swiftly inciting dissatisfaction among Chinese netizens and casting a negative light on L'Oréal Group.

In an effort to rectify this misstep, L'Oréal China issued an apology on Weibo on November 25, 2022, acknowledging that the twenty-four solar terms are a valuable cultural heritage originating from China, constituting an essential part of traditional Chinese culture while also recognizing the extensive influences on other Asian cultures.

Shihyo made its first appearance at the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in 2022, marking its entry into public consciousness as a brand under L'Oréal GroupThe following year, it attempted to gain a foothold in the Chinese market by opening an overseas flagship store and establishing a presence on mainstream social platformsDespite these efforts, the reality proved dishearteningAnalyzing the current market landscape, Shihyo has not only failed to make a significant impact in China but is also quietly withdrawing from the sceneIts official WeChat account ceased updates by September of last year, and its Xiaohongshu account stopped posting in January, with a meager follower count below 1,500.

This trend does not appear to be an isolated caseA recent performance report from L'Oréal disclosed that while the group's overall performance displayed steady growth, the North Asian market, including China, registered as the only region experiencing a downturn among L'Oréal's five major markets

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