An interview with Ms. Jaclyn Yan, General Manager of Swissline, China
Originating from Switzerland, Swissline is known as an anti-aging expert inspired by advanced cell therapy and pure alpine plant ingredients. With “GLAMSCIENCE” philosophy at its core, Swissline perfectly integrates cutting-edge science with glamorous touches to meet all kinds of skin and beauty needs. Recently, the brand has launched a new concept which combines beauty treatments with health food, with the aim of providing customers with a more personalized total solution.
Jaclyn Yan, who is responsible for Swissline’s business in China, has more than 20 years’ experience in the retail industry. With rich experience and innovative management approaches, she inputs vitality, higher efficiency and stronger passion to Swissline team, and gives this classic Swiss brand a more stylish image. SpaChina invited her to speak about the unique concepts of Swissline.
Lately, a new term has prevailed in China, namely the “rising wave”, referring to the passion, courage and creativity of the younger generation. But surely we shouldn’t define the term by age alone. Do you deem yourself a part of the rising wave?
I have nearly 21 years of experience in brand marketing. I began to operate Swissline in 2015. We started as a group of three members and now we have 60 in total. It is still a small team compared with many big agents in China. However, we take pride in our firm foundation. Swissline has teams in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
I definitely deem myself a part of the rising wave of the beauty industry since my team and I are quite open-minded to all the new concepts and updated messaging in the beauty and SPA industry. We boldly break with the traditional way of thinking in our daily work and keep trying innovative business patterns such as cross-border cooperation. For this reason, I also have the chance to make many friends and learn from them. There are truly many excellent teams in the industry.
Swissline always stays aligned with the latest trends and recently, it introduced a new concept combining treatments with health food. Could you share more of this concept?
Before joining the beauty industry, I was involved in the food business for many years. At that time, I already was interested in visiting spas and beauty salons. I also bought from them a lot of supplements that they recommended. But I soon discovered that the range of supplements offered by the spas in China were quite limited and they didn’t give me a comprehensive guide, namely a total solution, to improve my long-term health and beauty. In contrast, overseas counterparts such as the high-end spas or rejuvenation centers in Switzerland feature not only advanced beauty equipment and medical devices to improve your appearance and skin conditions, but also supplements and nutrients packages as part of the total solution, for you to take home for long-term maintenance. In the domestic spas and salons, however, we invest heavily only on the treatments and skincare products.
I am forty years old now. I often go to spas for body and facial treatments, and I do exercise regularly. But I find that these are not enough for me to keep a quite optimal body, mental and beauty condition. Likewise, when customers come to you, whether they are the 1990s generation, or 1960s, 70s, 80s, they expect you to give them a total health and beauty solution. It means that you not only solve their skin problems or give them a better body shape, but also help them to embrace a better physical and mental status in the long run.
Having been involved in the food business for long time, I understand the great contribution of nutritious foods to the health of both body and mind. Our holding company is a food expert with almost seventy years’ history and has strong R&D strengths all over the world. In addition, the products we develop precisely target our customers’ needs.
We are very clear who the target is – the same customers who come to our spa and beauty salons. We are also clear about their age and needs. So we develop the products precisely accordingly instead of making common products or casually throwing them online for the massive public to purchase. We take into consideration every safety factor and work on a total beauty solution that suit individuals. It’s also a good way for us to improve our cohesion with our customers and upgrade our services.
How do you interact with your team members, especially the young team members?
I have two kids. The older son was born in 1998. Many times, I have learnt a lot when talking with them. Most of my team members are 1990s generation. So they share much in common with my older son. I always share with them the things my son told me. Gradually, they feel that I am a quite fashionable and an approachable leader. As result, they are happy to work with me – a rising wave much older than they.
