In this guest column, Shiseido Travel Retail President & CEO Philippe Lesné discusses how travel retail can bring together a diverse consumer base.
In April 2019, Shiseido Group renewed its corporate mission to ‘Beauty Innovations For A Better World’. The inspiring words of Shiseido Group President and CEO Masahiko Uotani still resonate clearly in my mind.
“As a company, we certainly aim for further business growth, but just as surely, the genuine mission of Shiseido is to offer solutions to social problems and achieve a sustainable society, helping people find happiness through our mainstay beauty business. Beauty gives people confidence and courage, and brings joy, happiness and new energy to the world. And I strongly believe that beauty has the power to change the world,” he said.
Since its founding in 1872, Shiseido has always sought to serve the interests of consumers, but today their needs, lifestyles and values are more diverse than ever. Modernisation has improved people’s lives immensely and their desires are now increasingly rooted in self-actualisation, meaning and happiness.
As the Shiseido Group enters the last stretch of its Vision 2020 strategy, we are looking forward to unlocking further growth that creates new value, not just for our business, but also for society. The new corporate mission underlines our desire to provide products and services beyond consumers’ basic beauty needs – we want to respond to their need for self-betterment while contributing to building a more sustainable society. It represents our commitment to driving positive change in the world, by making people’s lives better and more fulfilling through beauty; and it serves to guide us in our pursuit of becoming a globally trusted beauty company with a clear growth path over the next century.
For Shiseido, a ‘better world’ is one where people lead positive lives and are happy and healthy both in mind and body; a world where beauty is boundless, all-embracing and thriving.
Shiseido Group’s sustainability efforts are focused on upholding beauty in three key areas: the environment (‘Protect Beauty’), society (‘Empower Beauty’) and culture (‘Inspire Beauty’):
Protect Beauty – Shiseido seeks to conserve the natural, sustainable beauty of the earth and its environment together with the beauty of the people who live here. We are ramping up our efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and waste and are making progress in our commitment to the ethical procurement of raw materials. Our latest product innovation is a testament to our ongoing work – in addition to providing a protective UV veil over the skin, the Shiseido Global Suncare sunscreen is presented in eco-friendly packaging and its formula is ocean-friendly.
Empower Beauty – Shiseido strives to motivate and empower all people who make up our society, with a focus on gender equality in Japan and around the world. We actively promote gender equality as part of our management strategies in order to establish an organisational culture that nurtures employees’ talents and improves results. We have intensively progressed our company culture, where diversity is now a strength of our workforce.
Besides that, Shiseido Group has also created The Shiseido Life Quality Beauty Centre, which provides private and specialised make-up consultations to consumers with serious skin concerns to help improve their quality of life.
Inspire Beauty – Shiseido aims to raise awareness and encourage the realisation of beauty as a culture through promoting the Japanese Beauty ethos, based on the values of nature, craftsmanship innovation and the arts. Last year, we introduced the concept of Japanese Beauty as a unique and growing beauty segment to the travel retail trade through a panel discussion during the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes.
Shaping the future of the beauty industry
In an industry as large, diverse and dynamic as beauty, a global mission embodies the spirit of the company and informs consumers about who we are and what we value. However, in today’s world, it is not just consumers who need a raison d’etre; our workforce is seeking more meaning in their work, and a clear mission uplifts employees with a united sense of purpose so that they feel empowered to work together towards bringing positive change to the beauty industry.
At Shiseido Travel Retail, we recognise that our people are the company’s key asset. We embrace diversity and encourage individuals’ ideas as these are the drivers of continuous beauty inspiration and creative innovations that help us to deliver unique experiences to travellers around the world.
Realising our global mission in travel retail
In travel retail, Shiseido adopts a mindful approach to beauty. We believe that true beauty innovation creates meaningful value for consumers and provides inspiration, encourages discovery and helps to build lasting memories for travellers. We strive to realise the Shiseido mission by introducing new and unique experiences to make this world a more beautiful place to live in and inspire global travellers to discover meaningful beauty.
One of the first instances of Shiseido Travel Retail bringing our new mission to life is through the innovative S E N S E art installation in the Shiseido Forest Valley in Singapore’s Jewel Changi Airport. Supporting Shiseido’s ‘Inspire Beauty’ pillar of sustainability, the initiative was designed to enhance travellers’ experiences with a Japanese aesthetic towards nature, beauty and art. The multisensory journey – through scent to create calm; sound to create peace; sight to create serenity; and touch to create harmony – allowed consumers to connect with the environment and their inner selves through their senses and form a deeper connection with the Shiseido brand.
As we look forward to realising the Shiseido mission in travel retail over the next five years, we will continue to explore new ways of engaging and inspiring travellers with our exciting beauty innovations and key sustainability pillars that protect the environment, empower society and support the arts and culture.
