Shiseido Acquires Its Swiss Distributor

In order to strengthen its businesses in the Swiss market, Shiseido will commence operations of a Shiseido Group sales company in the Swiss Confederation in January 2010 by acquiring 100% of the shares of the current distributor, which is handling import and sales of Shiseido Group products in this market, and changing the distributor’s company name to Shiseido S.A., with headquarters in Geneva. The acquisition of shares will be conducted by Shiseido International Europe S.A., a holding company in Paris.

Shiseido S.A. is expected to handle global brand Shiseido products commonly sold worldwide as well as non-Shiseido brands, which do not carry the Shiseido name, with the overriding goal of expanding in-store share by enhancing the collective strengths of the Shiseido Group in the market.

Shiseido is currently promoting its Three-Year Plan, which was formulated in 2008 in seeking to become “a global player representing Asia with its origins in Japan.” With respect to its overseas cosmetics business in fiscal 2009, the second year of its Three-Year Plan, various initiatives are being undertaken to bolster business schemes by designating the “expansion of operations in new and emerging markets” and “strengthening of operating bases in existing markets” as key thrusts.

During the current fiscal year, Shiseido has expanded its sales channels in Egypt, Morocco, Laos and Azerbaijan in terms of developing new markets. Also, with regard to markets in which Shiseido has already entered, the company plans to commence operations in Greece through a joint venture and in Vietnam through a wholly owned subsidiary.

In Switzerland, Shiseido commenced sales of Shiseido brand cosmetics from 1990 and non-Shiseido brands centered on fragrance and skincare products from 2000, building an image for respective brands in a mature cosmetics market where European cosmetics giants hold the top market share.

Along with business expansion and strengthening of its business foundations in overseas markets, Shiseido is currently undertaking measures for innovating the global brand Shiseido commonly available around the world. In this respect, various initiatives are being promoted such as augmenting the product lineup, remodeling the functions and design of counters and strengthening the customer service skills of beauty consultants (BCs). A key focus among the latter is the training of BCs worldwide in terms of “counseling sales,” which Shiseido has cultivated over the years in the Japanese market underpinned by “omotenashi” (hospitality) activities directed toward communicating brand value and deepening the relationship between Shiseido