New opportunities: Orbis aiming to strengthen skin care by tapping into acne and men’s care

The brand, owned by Pola Orbis Holdings, was hampered by the sluggishness of Japan’s cosmetics market, which decline with prolonged COVID-related restrictions.

On the other hand, net sales of skincare products grew and exceeded levels of the previous year. This was attributed to the firm’s high-performance skin care product ranges, such as the Wrinkle White series.

Overseas, sales were driven by China, where it recorded an uptick in net sales on all major e-commerce points.

However, it was enough to offset the brand’s decline last year and Orbis’ net sales declined by 4.5% to JPY43.4bn (U$387m) while operating profit dropped 19.1% to 5.92bn (U$51.6m).

Pola Orbis said it was expecting Orbis’ sales to recover and grow by approximately 5% for the 2022 fiscal year.

To achieve this target, the company said it would leverage the growing importance of skin care. According to the company, the skin care category increased in revenue for Orbis last year, driven by its high-performance lines.

The firm said it would continue to focus on the Wrinkle White series, as well as its Orbis U anti-ageing range and Defencera, a beauty supplement that recognised as a Food for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU) by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Furthermore, Pola Orbis said that the brand will tap into new opportunities in skin care, allowing it to reach new consumers in new segments, one of which is the acne care market.

It highlighted that Orbis’ existing Clear acne line has been growing steadily and since 2019, its net sales have grown 16%.

To capture new consumers, Orbis will be launching the new Clearful acne care skin care range in March 2022. This acne care line will be targeted at acne sufferers with sensitive skin, which the firm believes is a ‘growth area’ within skin care.

Another area Orbis will be focusing on is men’s skin care, where it hopes to gain market share. The brand currently has one existing men’s skin care range, Orbis MR which launched in 2019.

Since its launch, the range has tripled in sales, highlighting the potential of the men’s skin care market, said the firm.

Furthermore, Orbis will be approaching its 35^th​ anniversary this year and the company is planning to mark the occasion with a ‘major new product’​ launch in the second half of the year. In line with this, the brand said it would be undertaking extensive marketing activities.

In addition, the company also reported a drop in existing customers over the past year and has resolved to solve it moving forward.

“In FY2022, we will halt the decline in the number of customers. Strengthening CRM is our main strategy. Fundamentally, the one-to-one customer approach based on customer attribute data is ORBIS’s strength. We will incorporate a new mechanism for analysing interests and tastes. With this new CRM strategy, we aim to halt the decline in customer numbers and improve LTV by deepening engagement.”​

Overall, Pola Orbis’ net sales for fiscal 2021 increased 1.3% year on year to JPY178.6bn (U$1.6bn) while operating income increased 22.8% year on year to JPY16.9bn (U$147m).