Chinese Makeup Warehouse Chain Harmay Raises $200M To Fuel Expansion

Fledgling beauty brand Harmay recently completed a pair of fundraising rounds totaling $200 million in investment capital that the company plans to use to expand into new categories and markets, while also building its digital presence, boosting its brand portfolio and increased collaboration with other brands.

General Atlantic led Harmay’s Series C fundraising round, while QY Capital fronted the Series D effort. Other contributors included Eastern Bell Capital, N5 Capital, Ocean Link, Hillhouse Venture, and BA Capital. Rothschild & Co and CYGNUS Equity were the financial advisors in the investment rounds.

The past year has seen several brands from the L’Oréal Group launched on Harmay, which also recently completed its acquisition of Kevyn Aucoin Beauty.

“Our investors have recognized HARMAY as a disrupter in the beauty retail space and an innovator of unrivalled shopping experiences,” said Will Wang, founder and CEO of Harmay. “We’re honored to partner with such leading strategic and financial investors, who share our vision for the future of beauty retail.

“With their support, we aim to become the premier global retail platform for all things beauty and lifestyle, propelling continued innovation in omnichannel shopping experiences,” he said.

Harmay, which has more than 400 employees, has nine brick-and-mortar stores across China that sell more than 9,000 products from more than 400 international beauty and lifestyle brands. The company will add stores in several new cities, including Wuhan, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Harmay offers a WeChat mini-program store and plans to offer a Harmay app.

Related: Sally Hansen, Perfect Corp Launch Virtual Try-On Tool

Earlier this month, beauty brand Sally Hansen launched a virtual try-on tool with the help of Perfect Corp.’s AgileHand Technology, allowing consumers to experience hundreds of Sally Hansen nail color options in an augmented reality environment.

The tool is available from any mobile device and lets consumers see their chosen nail color on a live moving image of their hand for online and in-person shopping.

Coty, Sally Hansen’s parent company, entered an agreement with Perfect Corp., an artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) beauty and fashion tech solutions provider, at the end of last year.