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Article: Blueprint for a cosmetics empire: NSbrands enters a hot Japanese market.(InDepth)
- Article from:
- Japan Inc.
- Article date:
- September 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Japan Inc. Communications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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AFTER the US, Japan is the second largest market for cosmetics in the world, a market worth about [yen]1.4 trillion per year. It is a brand-conscious, fast-moving market, where a favorable review by a leading magazine and "kuchikomi" (word of mouth) by mobile young women can catapult a fresh brand into billions of yen in sales in a few years--at least that's the vision of the cosmetic world's latest challenger, NSbrands.
RIGHT AWAY, NSBRANDS CEO and founder Steve Bidinger can tell you that Japan is a unique market for cosmetics. For a start, a breakdown of market figures shows that Japanese women are more concerned about the quality of their skin and less about ...