Japanese cosmetics makers are diversifying their marketing styles to survive a slumping domestic market burdened by sluggish postdisaster consumption and the popularity of less-expensive products.
Shiseido Co., which mainly sells at bricks-and-mortar stores, launched an online shopping site in April that provides beauty counseling via chat rooms or phone calls, allowing customers to get the same kind of professional advice they would at the counter. Last autumn, Fancl Corp., which mainly sells online and via mail order, started selling nutritional supplements at a new pharmacy in Kyoto.
(Source: The Japan Times Online)