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SHANGHAI — Shanghai‘s prolonged COVID-19-related lockdowns in April forced beauty brands to halt production for a minimum of a month, sending shockwaves through the industry. “Supply chain capability was a much larger differentiating factor than the primary time around,” said Melinda Hu, senior analyst at Bernstein. “Shanghai was negatively impacted on countrywide sales, each online and offline.” With warehouses near Shanghai, Estée Lauder and Shiseido “had severely restricted their distribution operations,” said Hu. “Nevertheless, for L’Oréal, which had a broader set of distribution assets across the country, the impact was less severe. “Domestic brands with headquarters in Shanghai, similar to Shanghai Jahwa, Jala Group, Shanghai Chicmax and Percaline saw significant declines. With the lifting of the lockdown in Shanghai, we expect to see...