Starting this month Shiseido Co., Ltd. will commence sales of cosmetics products in the Republic of Tunisia. The products—including its global brand SHISEIDO prestige skincare and makeup lines—will be sold at prestige cosmetics and perfumery retail outlets under a distributor contract with Ulysse Négoce of the UTIC Group, a major distributor and retail sales group. The initiative will be the first time for a Japanese cosmetics brand to enter the Tunisian market. Additionally, Tunisia will be the third country for Shiseido in terms of expansion in the African market following Morocco in 2009 and South Africa in 2010. With this initiative, Shiseido overseas cosmetics sales will encompass 88 countries and regions (including Japan) throughout the world. Tunisia has been steadily achieving economic expansion and is maintaining an annual economic growth rate of 5% over the last few years. Also, with regard to the cosmetics market, a sales network of locally capitalized prestige cosmetics and perfumery retail outlets is gradually being developed, thus enabling the purchase of major cosmetics brands from Europe and the United States.

This move falls under the Shiseido’s Three-Year Plan (April 2011 – March 2014), which is based on the theme of “getting into a growth trajectory” with the aim of becoming a “global player representing Asia with its origins in Japan.” Accordingly, the Company is focusing on accelerating globalization while also vitalizing its domestic business. In terms of the New Frontier Strategy, which is one of the four growth strategies that Shiseido has formulated under the current plan, Shiseido is carrying out initiatives to strengthen its response towards emerging countries that are expected to grow in the future as the next growth engine following China.

In addition to starting sales operations of the joint venture company Shiseido Kozmetik Anonim Şirketi in Turkey from January 2012, Shiseido Co., Ltd.’s India representative office also commenced operations with the objective of grasping local needs and conducting market research in India. Furthermore, as a means of strengthening expansion in Brazil, which ranks third in the global cosmetics market, the bareMinerals brand from Shiseido’s North American subsidiary will be launched from May 2012 through the wholly owned subsidiary Shiseido do Brasil Ltda.