Annual Report 1999 ［ PDF：672KB ］ - Shiseido group website

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sales, while newly stating our most important goal of a consolidated
return on equity (ROE) of 7% as the first step in our quest to raise
corporate value.
Our greatest strength is the brand, supported by what
we call “cultural genes in art and science,” which we have carefully
nurtured throughout our 127-year history at the forefront of fashion
and culture. Reflecting this, in October 1998 we held our “Shiseido,
The Meme Exposition—Generations of Art and Science” in Tokyo, following
on the success of the same exposition in Paris the year before.
The popularity of this event indicates that many people gained from it a
deeper understanding of our corporate culture.
From fiscal 2000, we will focus on maximizing the value of
the brand. This will involve pursuing growth on a global
scale by cultivating new brand strategies that integrate domestic and
overseas components and by actively promoting M&A activities.
In fiscal 1999, we firmly implemented profit-oriented management
policies designed to raise profitability, as well as initiated “cost-best
activities.”
We also began a full-scale structural reformation of our core businesses.
In cosmetics, we revised the revenue structure of our Japanese
sales subsidiary to reflect changes in the system of transactions between
that subsidiary and the parent company. In our toiletries business, we
promoted our “megabrand” strategy, withdrew from the market for disposable
diapers and formed a strategic alliance with Johnson & Johnson of the
United States. In our salon business, which we intend to nurture into the third
pillar of our business, we firmly established a substantial revenue base through
domestic and international M&A activities.
In fiscal 2000, we will further reform our cosmetics business, which forms the
heart of our operations, through balanced management policies that promote
simultaneous improvements in profitability and growth.
◆ Important Initiatives
In fiscal 1999, Shiseido embarked on a number of important initiatives designed
to fuel further corporate progress.
For example, we established a revolutionary customer service system called
the Hanatsubaki Club Shiseido Cosmetic Quality Guarantee System. We also carved
out new markets through the launch of innovative products, such as qiora and
Shiseido Relaxing Fragrance, in anticipation of the needs of the 21st century,
which we have dubbed the “century of the heart.” In addition, we began displaying
all ingredients contained in our cosmetics on some of our domestic product packaging,
making us an industry leader in this respect.
“Shiseido, The Meme Exposition–Generations of Art and Science,”
held over a 23-day period in Tokyo in October 1998,
attracted some 34,000 visitors.
Based on the latest research into connections
among the heart, body and skin,
we developed qiora, which has added a new
dimension to cosmetics’ role in people’s lives.
Annual Report 1999
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