Italian competition regulators, AGCM [1], said on Friday, March 27, they have opened a probe into French luxury group LVMH and its Sephora and Benefit subsidiaries in Italy for promoting skin care products to minors, including children under 10 or 12 years of age, and teenagers.
"The investigations were opened over concerns that important information — such as warnings and precautions for cosmetics not intended for, or tested on, minors — may have been omitted or presented in a misleading manner," the AGCM competition authority said in a statement. The Sephora Collection and Benefit Cosmetics lines are at the core of the investigation.
The companies are suspected of having "adopted a particularly insidious marketing strategy, involving very young micro-influencers who encourage the compulsive purchase of cosmetics among young people, a particularly vulnerable group".
The AGCM said the products being pushed are mainly face masks, serums and anti-ageing creams.
In a statement to AFP, the companies said they would "fully cooperate" with the authorities and "reaffirmed their strict compliance with the relevant Italian regulations".
While not illegal to sell such products to under-age customers, the AGCM said "the frequent and combined use of a wide range of cosmetics by minors, without proper awareness, may be harmful to their health".
Sephora and LVMH premises in Italy were raided on Thursday, March 26, according to the AGCM. The companies could face substantial fines.
Stephanie Mallet, president of the French Society for Pediatric Dermatology, told AFP that the investigation was "important".
"It’s not normal to allow something that has no benefit for the child and can even be risky for profit," Mallet said.
"When I hear people talking about ’skincare’ and beauty routines for children, it makes me furious, because a child’s skin doesn’t need anything. It’s neither too dry, nor too oily, nor too red, nor too wrinkled. It absolutely doesn’t need anything other than washing with water and a gentle cleanser," she insisted.
