Japan
www.fancl.co.jp
Sales: $810 million

Key Personnel: Kenji Ikemori, chairman and chief executive officer; Kazuyoshi Miyajima, president; Tsuyoshi Tatai, vice president; Yasushi Sumida, executive director and general manager of Fancl Research Institute; Norihiro Shigematsu, executive director and vice president of health company; Yoshihisa Hosaka, executive director and vice president of beauty company and general manager of online sales division; Gen Inomata, director; Kenichi Sugama, president and representative director of Attenir.

Major Products: Cosmetics and skin care products sold under the Fancl and Attenir banners as well as by its non-consolidated subsidiary Boscia.

New Products: Mutenka skin care promotion, Mild Cleansing Oil (relaunch).

Comments: Fancl got its start in 1980 with the launch of additive-free Mutenka skin care, which was packaged in tiny vials. Since then, the company has continued to meld skin care and nutrition, but with varying degrees of success.

In November, company executives resolved to withdraw from Taiwan and Singapore retail businesses and, as a result, liquidate Fancl Taiwan Co. Ltd. due to losses in sales. That move underscored the company’s 8% decline in sales for the year ended March 31, 2014.

Effective April 1, 2014, Fancl Corporation’s cosmetics division and health foods division was split up and incorporated as new companies—Fancl Cosmetics Corporation and Fancl Health Science Corporation, respectively.

On the research and development front, Fancl Cosmetics is working toward further advancements in preservative-free technologies.