CASE STUDY REPORT INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

SHISEIDO
Shiseido is a Japanese cosmetics producer, market leader in its home country and one of the top ten players in the industry worldwide. Founded 1872 by Arinobu Fukuhara, Shiseido is also known for being the oldest cosmetics company in the world.

COMPANY FACTS
Net sales (consolidated): $ 7,024 billion Number of employees: 28,810 SHISEIDO group: 89 companies 29 domestic 57 overseas

STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS
Apart from being market leader in Japan, Shiseido is putting a lot of effort into research and development. Other important points are the strong focus on customer relationship management and environmental protection. But even though R&D is a cornerstone
Educational or geographical differences (e.g. city / countryside) can mess up the age-defined target groups. Also the needs may differ within the age-groups. For example contains the age-group IV all customers aged 35 to 54. But a 35 year old woman or men most likely has different needs in cosmetics than a 54 year old. These disadvantages of Shiseido’s present way of market segmentation suggest adjusting the used method.

FACING GLOBAL COMPETITION
With a successful product and brand strategy Shiseido is already well positioned against global competition. With a diversified product portfolio and high as well as lower priced brands, the company can target their customers very specifically. Also the established system of beauty counseling has proven itself as a competitive advantage and should therefore be expanded (e.g. by providing exclusive services such as beauty seminars). Furthermore should the network of strategic alliances be expanded. In the highly saturated market of cosmetics, alliances with companies outside of the industry (as already happened in the past with e.g. Coca Cola) could turn out to be very valuable. Such alliances could provide Shiseido with opportunities to enter new markets or to develop new products for niche markets. However, there are issues that need to be improved: Product development is still very centralized in Japan. To face cultural differences better, product development needs to become more decentralized. A major flaw of Shiseido’s