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1.IntroductionThisreportfocusesonasuccessfulinternationalcompanyinChina-theL'OréalGroup.Thetopicscoveredinclude“Thebasicinformation”,“Shouldthecompanyusee-commerceasthemaindistributionchannel?”and“SuggestionsunderthecurrentmacroeconomicsituationinChina”.2.ThebasicinformationPrimarily,theformofL'OréalGroupiscorporation.Itoperatesinmanycountriesintheworldandhasmanysuccessfulsubsidiaries.TwoofthebestknownareLancômeandTheBodyShop.Asacorporationthecompanyhassomedistinctfeatures.FirstlyL'OréalGroupisaseparatelegalentityandsecondly,theownersofL'OréalGroupareshareholders.CurrentlythemajorshareholdersaretheBettencourtfamily,Nestlé,internationalinstitutionalinvestors,Frenchinstitutionalinvestors,individualshareholders,treasurystockandemployees.Togetherwithothershareholders,theyowntheL'OréalGroupbuthaveonlylimitedliabilities.1)UndesirabledisadvantagesAsacorporationisthatitpaysincometaxestwice.Firstly,thecompanyisrequiredtopayincometaxforthecompanyearnings.Whenitdistributesdividendstoitsshareholders,theshareholdersneedtopayindividualincometaxesforthedividends.Asatransnationalcorporation,theboardofdirectorsandofficerscomprisethemanagementofL'OréalGroup.ThetopmanagerofL'OréalisJean-PaulAgon,whoisthechairmanandchiefexecutiveofficerofthecorporation.Intermsofwhatproductsorservicesprovided,L'OréalistheworldlargestREPORTONL'ORÉALGROUPcosmeticscompanyconcentratingonhaircolor,skincare,sunprotection,make-up,perfumeandhaircareaswellastoxicology,tissueengineering,andbiopharmaceuticalresearchfields.Besides,theproductsitprovidescanbecategorizedasmass,professional,luxuryandactivecosmeticsmarkets.Respectively,themasscosmeticsbrandsareL'OréalParis,MaybellineNYandGarnier.TheprofessionalareL'OréalProfessional,KerastaseandMatrix.TheluxurybrandsareLancôme,YSL,GiorgioArmani,Kiel’s,TheBodyShop,andShuUemura.Theactivecosmeticsbrandsarecosmeceuticals,suchasVichy,LaRoche-posay,SkinCeuticals,andINNEOV.2)FourmajordistributionchannelsRetailing,franchisingande-commerce.Thesedistributionchannelshavetheirmeritsandshortcomings.First,retailinghassmalltransactionsizebuthightransactionfrequency.Additionally,retailsaleislargelyinfluencedbyconsumerbuyingbehaviors.Second,franchisinghasitsownmerits.Thefranchiseownerscanusefranchisingtomakelarge-scalesaleandachievelow-costexpansion,butfranchisecanonlyfocusononearea,andcan'tbeastrategicvictoryineverymarket.Thethirdise-commerce.Theupsideisthatusinge-commerceasadistributionchannelisconvenient,timesavingandcostsreducing.Butontheotherhand,forcustomerstobuyproductsonline,especiallycosmetics,takesriskbecausetheycannotcheckthequalityoftheproductsastheydoinaphysicalstore.3)L'Oréalshouldusee-commerceAseverydistributionchannelhasitsmeritsanddemerits,itneedstobefindingoutifL'Oréalshouldusee-commerceasthemaindistributionchannel.Electroniccommercemakesitpossibletosellcommoditiesinacheap,efficient,easyandglobalway.InaccordancewiththeoperationandsalingsituationofL'Oréal,e-commerceisanoptimaldistributionchannel.Foronething,L'Oréalsellsmasscosmeticsbrandsproducts,thetargetcustomersofmasscosmeticsproductsareordinaryormiddleclasspeople,whoareincreasinglyinterestedinbuyingonlinewiththedevelopmentandconvenienceofe-commerce.Consequently,usinge-commerceasamaindistributionchannelmeetstheneedsofthesecustomersandisprofitable.Nevertheless,asfortheluxuryandprofessionalproducts,usinge-commerceasitsmaindistributionchannelisnotagoodchoice,becausesalesofluxuryandprofessionalproductsshouldprovideextraserviceandcustomerswillneedotherassuranceforbuyingtheproducts.Sincetheservicesystemofe-commerceisnotcompletelyperfecttosatisfytheneed,notalltheproductsandservicesofL'Oréalshouldusee-commerceasthemaindistributionchannel.3.ConclusionAlthoughL'OréalGrouphasbeenagreatsuccessstorysince1909,improvementsarestillpossibleforL'OréalGrouptoremainitsprofitabilityinChinagiventhecurrentmacroeconomicsituation.InChina,themaineconomicindicatorsshowthattheChineseeconomyisgrowingslowerinrecentyears.However,theoverallconsumptiongrowthisbasicallystable.Specifically,forthefirst8monthsofthisyear,theaccumulativetotalretailsalesgrewby10.3%andthenationalcommodityonlineretailsalesincreasedby25.5%.ItcanbeseenthattheeconomyinChinaisstillexpanding.Withpeople’sincomeincreasing,consumerswillcontinuetobuyluxuryproductstoimprovetheirqualityoflife.SoagreatmarketexistsforL'OréaltosellitsproductsinChina.AlthoughL'Oréalpaysmuchattentiontoinnovationandresearchtokeeptheirproductsuptodate,toselltheirproductssuccessfullyinChinarequiresmoreattentiontoanyotherrespects.Firstly,Chinesegovernmentisstricttostandardizethecosmeticsindustry,andhasintensifiedthequalitysupervisionofthedomesticcosmeticproducts.Fromthisperspective,thequalityofrawmaterialsfortheproductionofcosmeticsmustbeuptothestandard.Toupgradethepackageoftheproductstoguaranteesealingandnon-pollutionisanotherwaytoachievethisobjective.Secondly,fromtheperspectiveofeconomy,thecosmeticsindustryinChinaisintheperiodoftransitionfromgrowingtomaturitywithcompetitionintensifyingandmarketpressureincreasing.Tofacethischallenge,L'Oréalshouldmakef