Shiseido to Boost Sales by Opening 5,000 Outlets in China by 2008

Shiseido Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, said it aims to build up 5,000 sales outlets in China and boost sales in the fast-growing market fivefold to 100 billion yen ($894.1 million) by 2008. The company expects China to account for around 10% of its sales by 2008.

Faced with slack demand and cut-price competition in Japan, where it still gets 75% of its sales, Shiseido said it is looking to raise its presence in China, which is expected to become the world’s biggest market for cosmetics within two decades. The 130-year old firm already leads the Chinese market for prestige cosmetics, thanks to the success of Aupres, a luxury brand made exclusively for China and made in Beijing.

“Shiseido is placing the rapidly growing Chinese market right at the center of its growth strategy,” Shiseido president Morio Ikeda told a news conference.

Shiseido entered the fast-growing Chinese market in 1981 and already sells its products through around 350 of China’s 1,000 or so department stores. The company’s annual sales in China currently account for about 20 billion yen, or 3% of total revenues.