Shiseido sales make “steady recovery” after Chinese consumer boycott over wastewater discharge

20 May 2024 --- Shiseido saw sales jump 3.2% year-over-year in its first quarter of 2024, to ¥249.5 billion (US$1.6 billion). 

The company says it made a “solid start” to 2024 with a “steady” market recovery thanks to brands such as Drunk Elephant, which grew 30%, while Elixir gained 3% and Nars gained 1%. Its fragrance portfolio also saw sales rise 21%. 

Sales in recovery
Earlier this year, Shiseido released its 2023 financial results and predictions for 2024 after experiencing a decrease in profit following Japan’s release of wastewater from its Fukushima nuclear plant. The beauty brand’s annual revenue decreased by 8.8% to ¥973 billion (US$6.5 billion) despite achieving double-digit sales growth in Japan, the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.

The company’s 40% slide in annual earnings can be attributed to a slowing Chinese economy, along with fear and rhetoric surrounding Japanese companies after the wastewater discharge.

The J-beauty brand says that while Japan delivered robust growth (+20 percent) and Americas (+9 percent) and EMEA (+17 percent) continued momentum, sales declined 3 percent in China as anti-Japanese sentiment continued in the wake of the treated water scandal and travel retail sales continued to dwindle, down 31 percent. 

Shiseido’s developments
Innova Market Insights data indicates that the Asian beauty landscape has continuously transformed over the past five years. “Between October 2022 and September 2023, Lip Cosmetics took center stage, dominating the new product launches,” spotlights the global market researcher.

Shiseido’s brand Anessa recently unveiled its Sunshine Project, an initiative to provide children with “holistic well-being” by promoting outdoor activities and proper sun protection. 

The project will begin in Japan and eventually reach 12 Asian countries and regions where Anessa products are sold: China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The company also previously pinpointed the biological mechanisms of special skin proteins involved in senescence. To understand this occurrence, the beauty brand worked with US-based scientists at the Cutaneous Biology Research Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital for five years.

By Sabine Waldeck