The Japan-based company says that the new model will help with the ‘expansion of contact with new customers’ as well as giving a boost to the ‘revitalization of Shiseido contract stores’.
As part of its strengthened focus on the web, it will also be focusing on an initiative to recreate the business model for stores sales in the domestic market of Japan, which has been hard hit by economic stagnation, and more recently the impact of earthquakes.
Linked web-marketing
The new model will focus on maximizing contact points with new customers through linked web-marketing, while simultaneously maximising the advantages offered by its physical store presence worldwide.
The focus will include the increased marketing initiatives for both cosmetics sales as well as expanding the offerings for its beauty care experiences in its stores and salons worldwide.
As part of this move, the company will launch a new website, entitled Beauty Platform or BPF,targeting health and beauty, which will provide a ‘virtual mall’ that will include multiple Shiseido outlets promoting and selling products for all aspects of the business.
Store navigation and online counseling
The new site will be linked to the company’s main website and as well as conveying information about Shiseido products, it will have built-in functionality such as store navigation and online counseling to help consumers select the right product for their needs.
Ultimately the company believes this strategy will help direct consumers towards its contract stores as well as boosting online sales, a strategy it believes will particularly benefit its domestic market.
Shiseido’s two-pronged initiative aims to strengthen its flagging store sales as well tapping into major grown opportunities in online sales and mail order.
Two-pronged strategy
The company justifies its two-pronged strategy by pointing out that, although online sales are showing huge growth, the nature of cosmetics products and the physical testing that many consumers still feel is necessary, means that an emphasis on physical store presence will continue to be of the utmost importance.
At the in-cosmetics event in Milan last month, a conference presentation by Irina Barbalova of Euromonitor stressed the fact that technology continues to be a driving force behind market growth, much of this phenomenon being attributed to increasing internet sales.
Barbalove also referred to the rise of smart phones and phone apps, which is helping consumers to make more targeted cosmetics purchases – a trend that Shiseido says it is also deriving a significant increase in sales from.