1 – Shiseido unveils skin care line-up developed to guard against environmental damage
Shiseido has launched a new skin care line-up with state-of-the-art technology designed to protect skin against damage from environmental factors.
The company unveiled these new products under its eponymous brand as well as prestige label, Clé de Peau Beauté. These products will be showcased at the upcoming TFWA World Exhibition & Conference 2019.
“Thanks to cutting-edge innovation, our latest skincare launches from Shiseido and Clé de Peau Beauté are able to address multiple skin concerns, perfectly complementing consumers’ busy and active lifestyles,” said Elisabeth Jouguelet, vice president of marketing and innovation, Shiseido Travel Retail.
According to Generation Research, skin care is the largest segment of the perfumes and cosmetics category in travel retail, representing 47% of the category in 2018. Additionally, it was the fastest growing segment, with sales increasing by 36% in 2018 compared to the previous year.
Shiseido’s own skin care portfolio say sales jump by 44% over the same period, with the Asia Pacific region leading the way.
2 – Drunk Elephant furthers Asian expansion with Tmall launch in China
Clean beauty brand Drunk Elephant is set to debut in the Chinese market via cross-border e-commerce platform Tmall.
Entering the burgeoning Chinese market is a strategic move for the US-based skin care brand, where the brand already enjoys a strong following.
“We have been overwhelmed already by the enthusiasm and interest of the Chinese people. We have been getting many requests from our fan base in China asking when we will launch,” said Tiffany Masterson, founder of Drunk Elephant.
She added: “At our recent House of Drunk pop-up in New York last June, we were delighted to see visiting Chinese shoppers stocking up on Drunk Elephant to bring home, which was such an encouraging sign. It’s going to be a thrilling experience to launch in China and we hope we are well-received.”
Drunk Elephant is still relatively new to the Asian market. The brand first expanded into Asia last November with a launch in Singapore via Sephora SEA.
3 – ‘Positive momentum’: Shiseido’s Clé de Peau Beauté expanding global footprint
Shiseido’s luxury beauty brand Clé de Peau Beauté is strengthening its global presence by expanding its footprint in Europe and the Middle East and Africa region.
The skin care and make-up brand launched in the UK this month with its first counter in Harrods departmental store.
Additionally, the firm’s travel retail arm launched the brand in Dubai International Airport and Istanbul Airport. The new launches will give the brand a presence in key Asia Pacific, EMEA and American markets
These expansions further its ongoing strategy to make Clé de Peau Beauté a leading global luxury beauty brand.
Clé de Peau Beauté Europe & Middle East VP Lindsay Azpitarte believes this is the right time for the brand to expand into Europe because the luxury market is expanding.
4 – Effective and efficient AI: SOFINA iP ‘helps consumers save time’ with two-step serum system
SOFINA iP, a skin care brand under Kao Corporation, is scheduled to launch AI-based skin analysis service and ‘double serum system’ to cater to its time-poor consumers.
According to Kao’s consumer research, working women “will go to any length to achieve their goals quickly and efficiently” and are looking for beauty products that are aligned with this.
Hada ID is a digital service hosted on LINE, a mobile messaging application and uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyse uploaded selfies and evaluate skin condition in real time.
The digital service was developed to be a toolkit to help beauty consumers maintain their skin and allow the brand to offer personalised skin care consultation 24/7.
5 – SUGAR Cosmetics inches closer to its goal of 1000 retail outlets with North India expansion
India-based SUGAR Cosmetics has launched its first store in North India as part of the firm’s aggressive plan to have more than 1000 brick-and-mortar stores by the end of this year.
The latest 197sqft SUGAR outlet is located in the city of Gurugram at the MGF Metropolitan Mall. The exclusive store houses the whole range of cosmetic products from the SUGAR Cosmetics brand.
According to CEO Vineeta Singh, the company chose to open a store in Gurugram as it is a “key hub” for the brand’s target consumer.
With the opening of the Gurugram outlet, the company now has over 770 physical retail touchpoints in India.
This number includes 25 exclusive brand outlets in cities such as Kolkata, Bengaluru, Gurugram and Udaipur as well as including self-operated kiosks, general trade stores as well as shop-in-shop outlets with partners such as Health & Glow and Project Eve.