French cosmetics company apologizes for price mix-up

French cosmetics brand L'Oreal Paris has apologized after consumers filed complaints over the price differences in the label's mask products during this year's Singles Day shopping spree.

Both Li Jiaqi, a top livestreaming host, and Viya, another top-tier livestreamer, issued statements on Nov 17 that they will suspend all collaborations with L'Oreal's flagship store on Tmall, as the promotional prices offered during their livestreaming shows do not match the price that L'Oreal promised.

Nearly 20,000 consumers complained the mask products they purchased at the livestreamers' sales are more expensive than those offered at the L'Oreal flagship store on Tmall.

L'Oreal said in its reply on Nov 18 that the company has set up a team to respond to inquiries from consumers and has been working with relevant government departments in a bid for solutions.

The international cosmetics label said after preliminary investigation that some consumers purchased the products at a lower price after pre-sale because they combined the benefits of various platforms and stores.

"We apologize again for the trouble brought to consumers by the complex sales mechanism," according to L'Oreal.

This year's sales growth have been slower on Tmall for the shopping festival. The 24-hour sales figure, or gross merchandise volume in e-commerce terms, was 540.3 billion yuan ($84.5 billion), a rise of only 8.45 percent year-on-year.