Shiseido has begun work on its Global Innovation Center (GIC), located in the Minato Mirai 21 area in Yokohama, Japan.
The 57,000sqm, 14-storey centre was announced in 2015, and is said to be “unprecedented” in its open style of research and development, which will allow Shiseido to create innovations through communication with consumers, according to the company.
The GIC's first and second floors will be an open communication space, where the company will interact directly with consumers and co-create products.
The first floor will feature three areas: the Beauty Bar, where consumers can try Shiseido cosmetics and share their opinions with researchers; the Active Beauty Station, aimed at consumers who seek “active beauty” through activities such as running; and a Deli & Cafe, which will offer healthy food products inspired by the company's research on beauty and nutrition.
Consumers will test Shiseido products at the GIC's Beauty Bar
Meanwhile, the second floor will be dedicated to a museum of Shiseido's history, which aims to inspire visitors to come up with new ideas as well as telling the brand's story.
It will be open to the general public as well as Shiseido's researchers.
The company celebrated the start of construction with a cornerstone laying ceremony on 24 October.
The GIC is slated to begin operations at the end of 2018.