NOW that the headquarters of Estee Lauder in the Asia Pacific region is moving to Shanghai, Michel Grunberg, the company's senior vice-president, said his biggest worry is that there are only seven days in a week and only 24 hours in a day.

Grunberg, who is also Estee Lauder's regional head, says that in China and Shanghai he can see a "huge market of huge potential".

Grunberg seems familiar with the Chinese statistics relevant to his business: "Considering China's big population of 1.3 billion, leaving aside men, children and village people, there are 62.5 million women. They are our interest and real consumers," he said.

Sales in China's cosmetic industry have been rising at an annual rate of 25 per cent for some years now. China has become the world's eighth and Asia's second biggest market for cosmetics, according to statistics released by the China Association of Fragrance Flavour and Cosmetic Industry. In 2002, total sales hit US$5.5 billion.

In the Chinese market, skincare products remain the most popular and the ones whose sales are the fastest growing. Among cosmetic and fragrance products, international brands continue to have most of the market. Experts said the Chinese market still had great potential yet to be tapped, especially for prestigious cosmetics.

But the revenue input to the company from China was still "a very very small number", Grunberg said..

"But we do not look at the percentage, we look at the future," he said. About 30 years ago, Estee Lauder's sales in Japan totalled only US$1 million, but they are now enormously higher. "In less than 30 years, China will be a bigger market than Japan," Grunberg said.

"I told headquarters in New York that the centre of the world for ceramics is China and the same applies when it comes to cosmetics in Asia.

"This headquarters move means Estee Lauder looks on China as being one of the most important markets around the world."

First coming to China in 1993, Estee Lauder, specializing in prestigious cosmetics, now has over 40 stores in China. "We had only 10 stores in the first eight years, but since 2001, we have speeded up," Grunberg said. "We will expand faster and become more aggressive."

Grunberg's "aggressive" plan also includes bigger purchases of Chinese products such as lipstick cases, bags and an ingredient called "white tea". Estee Lauder now spends about US$100 million on Chinese products and expects the figure to be up to US$400 million in the future.

"Nothing is impossible," Grunberg said. "If there is opportunity, then the acquisition of a Chinese brand is also possible."

One thing certain is that Estee Lauder will concentrate on marketing prestigious cosmetics.

What worries Grunberg is over-production of cosmetics in China. According to statistics, China has more than 2,500 cosmetics plants, and over 20,000 brands.

"Too many brands may be dangerous - do we need all of them? It could lead to price wars because of discounting and over-production," he said.