08.06.09
Japan
www.shiseido.co.jp
Sales: $6.9 billion
Key Personnel: Shinzo Maeda, president and chief executive officer, Shiseido Co. Ltd.; Yasuhijo Harada, director and corporate senior executive officer.
Major Products: Skin care, color cosmetics, sun care, fragrances, hair care and toiletries.
New Products: Zen eau de parfum limited edition, White Lucent brightening serum for neck and décolletage, Perfect Rouge lipstick, Benefiance NutriPerfect eye serum.
Comments: Shiseido’s results for fiscal 2008 were sluggish, as both net sales ($6.9 billion) and profits slid for the year ended March 31, 2009.
Domestic cosmetics, which accounted for 59.7% of company revenues, declined 6.9%. Most products performed poorly, according to the company, save Haku Ex brightening beauty essence. In particular, the company said “counseling” cosmetics in the medium price range and lower-priced self-selection cosmetics struggled.
So how does the company plan to turn things around? This year the company wants to boost sales of its so-called power shops—chain stores that have voluntarily strengthened ties with the cosmetics firm. In particular, Shiseido will implement exclusive power shop initiatives for Benefique as well as create special advertisements for individual stores. The company plans to increase the number of power shops from 600 to 2,000 within three years.
In department stores and structured retailers, Shiseido will zero in on Revital Granas. Although there was growth in sales of the beauty essence, which is the mainstay of the line, the basic items have yet to catch on. The company remains confident in the usability of the items and will continue to cultivate them.
In drugstores, especially major chains, Shiseido will focus on hair care, skin care, and men’s products. In addition, the company has plans to relaunch its Aqua Label and unveil a line called Uno.
To make Shiseido a more competitive global player, the company plans to remodel counters and roll out Solution LX, a premium line of day and night face creams.In addition, the company plans to focus marketing activities on cities that have so-called “strong ripple effect” potential. For fiscal 2009, Shiseido was eyeing 25 major metropolises in Europe, the U.S. and Asia that fit this description.
This spring, Shiseido became the first company in the cosmetics industry to be certified under the Japanese Ministry of the Environment’s “Eco-First Company.” The Eco-First Program was created by the Ministry of the Environment in April 2008 to “encourage leading companies in each industry to redouble their environmental protection activities by having them make a commitment to the Minister for the Environment concerning their environmental protection initiatives such as global warming countermeasures geared toward compliance with targets mandated by the Kyoto Protocol.” Certified companies are permitted to use the Eco-First mark in publications and advertising.