Shiseido goes mass in China

Japanese beauty giant Shiseido has expanded its cosmetics offering in China to include lower priced items. This signals a shift from its focus on prestige brands, as it seeks to recover sales hit by Sino-Japan tensions last year.

In China, Shiseido had specialised in cosmetics sold at department and specialty stores. Now, it has introduced a cheaper line under the Senka brand, which will be available in supermarkets.

Senka is also sold in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and other markets in Asia. Prices range from ¥1,000-¥1,300, which is about half or a third of the price of upscale offerings.

Twelve products have been released so far, with Shiseido aiming to expand the Senka sales network to 6,000 stores in the first year. By capturing demand across a broader customer base, the company aims to increase sales in China by 5% in the year ending March 2014.