Shiseido Travel Retail president Philippe Lesné discusses the Japanese beauty house’s recovery prospects in China, how it is engaging with diverse consumers and markets in Asia Pacific, and its ‘back to basics, back to growth’ approach to recovery.
Lesné also introduces the company’s renewed mission to become a personal beauty and wellness powerhouse by 2030 as Shiseido Travel Retail embraces a new culture of beauty in this next phase of its expansion.
Back to basics, back to growth
Shiseido Travel Retail was one of many beauty giants hit by the daigou crackdown that shook up Hainan’s duty-free market in 2023. This, and slower than expected consumption in China, has caused well-documented inventory issues in the duty-free hotspot.
Despite this, Shiseido Travel Retail has placed significant investment in the island province, opening a slew of flagship stores in the Global Beauty Plaza (Block C) of the cdf Mall in Haitang Bay.
This, according to Shiseido Travel Retail president Philippe Lesné, is part of the Japanese beauty company’s wider ‘back to traveller-centric growth’ strategy which will see it return to the fundamentals of its business.
Delving into the Japanese beauty giant’s strategy, Lesné says: “We are going ‘Back to Basics, Back to Growth’. This means a renewed focus on our business fundamentals as we aim to drive sustainable, high-quality growth focused on tourists.
“We are driving growth through strategic investments and partnerships that address the evolving needs of our travellers,” he adds.
“This includes enhancing our travel retail stores to improve the shopping experience, strengthening our brand showcase and elevating the role of Beauty Partners to bring Japan’s intentional style of service to travel retail. In particular, we are proud of our retail expression in cdf Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex, Block C and Kansai International Airport.”
In February, Shiseido, Clé de Peau Beauté, The Ginza, Ipsa and Nars opened standalone boutiques in the Global Beauty Plaza, offering immersive shopping experiences, memorable retail concepts and travel retail exclusives to travellers in Hainan. Elixir has also opened a counter.
According to Lesné, the openings represent one of the company’s largest investments at the cdf Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex Block C.
He says: “Our latest showcase champions Shiseido’s Japanese heritage and innovation with personalised beauty experiences catered specially for discerning travellers. It also marks our long-term commitment to connect with travellers across China and beyond through our brands.
“We have a longstanding relationship with CDFG, a key and valued partner for us. Chinese consumers will remain a key focus for STR and will continue to play a big role in our travel retail ecosystem. This investment aims to elevate the overall experience across our portfolio of brands in this key market.”
To drive its recovery in China, Shiseido Travel Retail will be leveraging its reputation as an Asian beauty expert. “Overall, Shiseido Travel Retail is on track for recovery in China and we hope to see growth from the second half of 2024. As travellers return to Hainan, we have a solid foundation to drive sustainable growth for the long term.
“Backed by more than 150 years of R&D, Shiseido is one of the longest-standing beauty companies in the world and remains at the forefront of skincare innovation, trust and market creation. This is totally unique to Shiseido and we are confident that it will continue to set us apart in China.”
He adds: “In China, we are collaborating closely with our team in the domestic business. Together, we hope to build a consistent approach for targeting Chinese travellers by finding synergy in enhancing brand desirability and equity, cross-regional integrated marketing operations, and overall optimisation.”
Beauty innovations for a better world
Shiseido Group’s long-standing mission is to drive ‘Beauty Innovations for a Better World’ but as the world changes, so too does the meaning behind the word innovation.
In the new beauty landscape innovation is constantly evolving, encompassing everything from product and formula breakthroughs to beauty technology devices and even in-store diagnosis and analysis tools.
According to Lesné, innovations across all its forms will play an even bigger role as Shiseido Travel Retail drives its Group mission to become a beauty and wellness giant by 2030.
“Our mission statement is fundamental in guiding us through this evolution. We place the beauty innovations in our travel experiences, services and product offering at the core of our strategy for success.
“This is our mission and it remains as relevant as ever,” he adds. “This is what we’re all working towards. Creating tech-driven retail experiences and services, delivering innovative products, and being present and disruptive in the digital world are all parts of the fundamentals to get back to growth.”
Some examples of these innovations include the skinification of bodycare products with The Ginza, the company’s first steps towards wellbeing ingestibles with Shiseido Beauty Wellness, beauty application with IPSA and many more.
Diversity of travellers
While Chinese consumers will remain a key demographic for Shiseido Travel Retail, Lesné believes that the diversity of travellers in the channel offers endless opportunities for growth.
“[With] international tourism back to pre-pandemic levels, we are shifting towards traveller-centric growth. As a global organisation, we’re also seeing opportunities in the diversity of consumers outside of Asia; and so, we are strengthening ourselves in Japan and in the Western markets, Americas and Europe.”
How is Shiseido Travel Retail winning these consumers and addressing their evolving needs? Lesné says: “Chinese consumers will always be a key focus for us, but beyond that we’re also working to engage with other demographics. For example, fragrances are in increasingly high demand, particularly in the West.
“In Asia Pacific, fragrance preferences have matured significantly. Consumers are looking for more complex fragrance profiles and we are leveraging this with our portfolio.”
He continues. “We’ve recently launched Nars in the Indian local market and it has been performing very well. We are seeing more and more Indian consumers in stores in Asia, specifically in Southeast Asia. The prospects look bright and the Indian consumer is one we’re nurturing both in India and wherever they might travel.”
A personal beauty wellness company
Shiseido Group recently unveiled its renewed mission to become a personal beauty wellness company before the end of the decade. This ambition, in the evolving travel retail landscape, is to create a new culture of beauty and value for travellers across its portfolio of brands.
Shiseido Travel Retail’s culture of beauty is focused on developing science-backed solutions for skin beauty and wellness. It draws from the company’s Japanese DNA and longstanding history of research and development as it shifts towards traveller-centric growth.
This new approach is about engaging travellers through personalised, creative and immersive retail experiences inspired by its Omotenashi ethos (a Japanese concept centred on hospitality and mindfulness), and curating travel retail-exclusive experiences, services and products that focus on the skin beauty and wellness of travellers.
Lesné explains, “At the Group level, Shiseido aims to position itself as a Personal Beauty Wellness Company by 2030. In travel retail, we see great potential for the beauty and wellness category. Shiseido has embraced a holistic philosophy combining Eastern wisdom with Western science for overall wellness since its founding in 1872. We see this in action through the launch of wellbeing-focused skincare brands such as The Ginza and Baum in travel retail over the past few years.
“In February, Shiseido launched its Inner Beauty Business, Shiseido Beauty Wellness. We are also assessing the launch of Shiseido Beauty Wellness in travel retail in consultation with our colleagues and retail partners.”
SEE ALSO: VF Corp CCO Martino Guerrini talks Southeast Asia expansion, GMG partnership
Despite recent difficulties in travel retail, Lesné believes that the channel is still a growth driver for the wider Shiseido Group. He concludes: “We are committed to travel retail. 2024 is a year of reinvention for STR. We plan to draw on our Japanese heritage and our expertise in Asian beauty and wellness to drive traveller-centric growth.
“I’m confident in the long-term prospects of our channel.”
(Source: The Moodie Davitt Report)