Shiseido has announced that its new company, Shiseido Middle East FZCO, will be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) – and it will be established by the end of 2013. Business will commence by January 2014.

Shiseido Middle East is a joint venture that will be set up in partnership with a local company, which will import and market products under the global brand SHISEIDO in seven Middle East countries—Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE.

Shiseido International Europe S.A., Shiseido’s wholly owned subsidiary in France, and the local company hold equity shares of 51% and 49%, respectively.

The local company is Creation Alexandre Miya Paris Limited, owned by the Kotovsky family. Creation has been distributing and marketing products under the Shiseido global brand since 1997.

Business operations in the seven countries will continue to be undertaken by Creation, the current distributor, until December 31, 2013. Then, on January 1, 2014 and beyond, Shiseido Middle East, the new joint venture, will take over the reigns.

In light of the region’s high market potential underpinned by its large population that includes many affluent consumers, Shiseido has been examining the possibility of direct investment with the aim of further enhancing its market presence. This has resulted in the establishment of the joint venture.

The seven Middle East countries covered by Shiseido Middle East are home to a population of around 50 million, with an extremely young average age of around 30 years old. With a high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the region is known to have one of the largest affluent consumer bases.

The high-end cosmetics market in the seven countries combined boasts a market size of 150 billion yen (2012) on a retail value basis, thus exceeding the market in Russia. Two-digit growth rates are expected to continue.