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Just a year has passed since the first Shiseido Beauty Summit, which the Japanese group had also decided to hold as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the foundation, in Tokyo, of the company, now the leader in Asia and fifth in the world in the sector of cosmetics, with a 2022 turnover of 7.5 billion euros. Venice is well worth a birthday, we could say, because the first Beauty Summit took place right in the lagoon, on the eve of the film festival.
For the second edition Shiseido opted again for Europe, however choosing Barcelona. Again, nothing by chance: the event took place on the same days as the annual IFSCC (International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists) congress, in which this year eight Shiseido researchers participated to present the innovations they they worked on medium and long term projects. «Over the years, our group has received 29 awards from the IFSCC, a record for the sector, which we are honored by and which confirms the pioneering role that Shiseido has had in scientific research applied to cosmetics – underlined Franck Marilly, president and CEO of Shiseido EMEA –. We will continue to follow this path, but enriching it with new, increasingly ambitious objectives. We have called this strategy “Shift 2025 and beyond” and innovation will continue to be at the base: Shiseido will increase investment in research and development to 3% of turnover. The words are important: in the company I have never heard of R&D “expenses”, but only and exclusively of R&D investments”.
After the slowdown linked to the pandemic, Shiseido has recovered and indeed exceeded pre-Covid levels. «The growth compared to 2019 was 8%, four times higher than the market average – added Marilly citing the Npd Beauty Trends 2022 data -. We are also leaders in e-commerce, with a growth of the digital channel of 20% in the last year, while the average was 14 percent”.
All the researchers who spoke at the Beauty Summit used the adjective holistic, which should not be misleading. The idea of Shiseido, which has five research centers in the world and is a melting pot of scientific expertise but also of cultures, is that the cosmetics industry becomes a sort of catalyst for all the innovations underway in the various fields of research, also medical, primarily on the microbiome, but without ever forgetting the prime mover, the needs of consumers. «Social and cultural changes are increasingly accelerating and Shiseido wants to be faithful to historic customers but at the same time address young people – says Nathalie Broussard, director of scientific communication at Shiseido EMEA -. We must and wish to increasingly communicate our commitment to research, process sustainability, attention to the environment and people. Feeling comfortable with yourself, taking care of your skin and your physical and mental health at the same time: it’s important for everyone and at Shiseido we think we can play an active role to help improve everyone’s lives.” In the company’s future there are new cosmetic brands and – anticipates Broussard – new product categories, such as supplements.
The gentle, scientific and spiritual revolution at the same time, we could say (we are still talking about a company with a profoundly Japanese soul) also passes through Italy, as explained by Vittorio Garavelli, Shiseido country manager for the our country. «There will be no need to make major changes in distribution, for example. But we have ample room for growth to make the other brands of the group known and appreciated, which are an excellent way to make Shiseido’s commitment understood not only in skincare, which remains the core business, but also in perfumes and other quality products. beauty”. Garavelli joined Shiseido in 2014 and has long experience in the French cosmetics giants, but seems to have found his ideal dimension in that melting pot of cultures and approaches that is Shiseido, an ideal meeting point between East and West. «After the years spent in Paris as EMEA skincare business acceleration director, I am happy to return to Italy – concludes Garavelli –. The market has its specificities, not only for distribution, which is still very fragmented. A bit like in fashion however, Italy is always a laboratory and a source of ideas and inspiration for those who work to create beauty.”