Shiseido is combining its travel retail business and China operations in a bid to “respond to volatile market conditions with agility” and “maximise consumer-centric value creation”.
Effective 31 March, the Japanese beauty giant’s restructuring combines the two business segments into one reporting line.
As part of the change, Philippe Lesné is retiring from his role as Shiseido’s Travel Retail Region CEO.
Toshinobu Umetsu, Corporate Executive Officer and CEO China Region, has been named Corporate Executive Officer, China & Travel Retail Region CEO.
Bringing Shiseido’s China operations and travel retail businesses under a consolidated framework is the latest move in the group’s broader transformation plan.
This plan is centred around three objectives – reinforcing the brand’s foundation, rebuilding its profitability and enhancing operational governance.
The owner of Drunk Elephant and NARS’ annual operating profits plunged 73.1% last year, with the slump attributed to a drop in consumer spending in key market China.
Talking about the amalgamation of its travel retail and China operations, Shiseido said in a statement: “As laid out in the ‘Action Plan 2025–2026’... the company is in the midst of transformation in pursuit of the three objectives.
“Under the new operating structure, we will further reinforce our brand foundation by taking a cohesive approach to Chinese consumers while accelerating synergies in the business both with respect to growth and cost efficiency.
“This will allow us to respond to volatile market conditions with agility and to maximise consumer-centric value creation, driving a shift towards high-quality growth to ensure profitability over the long-term.”
The financial reporting for these combined segments will be updated, starting with the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 due to be announced in May.