Fujifilm announces major investment to become leading beauty player; 7-Eleven convenience store chain launches beauty brand; Chinese travellers continue to boost Australian and New Zealand tourism industries; and Estée Lauder Partners With Google for Voice-Operated App.
Fujifilm announces major investment to become leading beauty player
Camera sales nose-dived from 2000 to 2010 when the digital revolution swept the world. Kodak died but Fujifilm diversified, notably into the cosmetics market. In 2007, the Japanese behemoth launched the Astalift skincare brand and captured 6 to 8 per cent of the Japanese prestige skincare market within three years as sales soared to $US100 million. Over the next four years, celebrities such as Naomi Watts and supermodel Erin O'Connor became fans and Astalift was rolled out to international markets, including China, the US, France, Germany and the UK, with hopes of becoming a $US1 billion brand by 2018.
Under the tagline – Photogenic Beauty – the Astalift lineup has real scientific chops. The boffins at Fujifilm pioneered a way to transfer the antioxidant technology developed to protect the fading of colour photographs from UV rays to anti-ageing skincare. The hero antioxidant astaxanthin is 1000 times more potent than co-enzyme Q10. Naomi Watts' favourite product – Jelly Aquarysta – is a highly concentrated ceramide formula and won the 2014 Innovation Award from the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation.
Skincare has become a major element of Fujifilm's business portfolio. But Chairman and CEO, Shigetaka Komori, the man who steered the multinational to recovery, has always believed there is a strong connection between photography and skincare and is convinced that cosmetics are one of the strongest growth areas going forward. Fujifilm aims to spend $AU5.88 billion on strategic acquisitions over the next three years, with a major focus on healthcare and beauty. A key product in the Astalift lineup is the peach-flavoured Pure Collagen Drink to promote beauty from within , so more ingestibles – popular in China and Japan – are very much on the cards, too.
7-Eleven convenience store chain launches beauty brand
I'm surprised it's taken the 7-Eleven convenience store chain so long to launch its own brand beauty range. A few years ago, the CEO of a leading budget nail brand with price tags of $2.30 told me that she had been taken completely by surprise by the demand from convenience stores. The reason? Men pulling in for petrol had started to buy several nail polishes for their wives and girlfriends as gifts, instead of taking home a wilted bunch of flowers. We're making $26,000 a year from some individual convenience stores, she revealed.
No doubt the same scenario has become commonplace in the US. The 7-Eleven chain has debuted its own own cosmetic brand called Simply Me Beauty. The comprehensive 40 SKU range, with all items priced between $US3 and $US5, covers eyeshadow palettes, BB creams, lipsticks, mascara and even false eyelashes and blender sponges. The lineup was created as impulse buys for Millennial women, but they may also discover the same male gifting trend so prevalent in Australia.
7-Eleven has a network of nearly 11,000 stores across North America. This year the company celebrated its 40th anniversary in Australia and operates 630 franchises in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, WA and the ACT, generating annual sales of $3.6 billion.
Chinese travellers continue to boost Australian and New Zealand tourism industries
The domestic tourist market is still the dominant force in the overall tourism markets of both Australia and New Zealand. By the end of next year, Australian tourism revenues are expected to hit $129.5 billion and $33.5 billion in New Zealand. But overseas tourists account for 41.9 per cent of this figure in New Zealand and 26.4 per cent in Australia, reveals IBISWorld.
Airport duty-free section and major shopping centres in both countries have received multi-million dollar makeovers to cater for the increasing number of high-spending Chinese travellers. The annual inflow of Chinese travellers to New Zealand has risen to 450,000 and 1.4 million in Australia. By contrast, the UK only welcomed just over 260,000 in 2016. The average individual spend of Chinese tourists in New Zealand is $3610 and $8722 in Australia, notes IBISworld.
The nearly two million-strong annual "invasion"of Chinese tourists has become crucial to the beauty industries of both countries. Senior executives of the major cosmetic brands routinely have ANZ attached to their titles. Sephora entered Australia in 2014 and set up shop across the Tasman in 2016. In July, Mecca Brands opened its sixth store in New Zealand and reached a 90 store national network in Australia this year. Aesop and Kiehl's are also poised to open more stores in New Zealand. But "domestic tourists"are still very much part of the equation says Scentre Group, who operate Westfield shopping centres nationwide. Overall cosmetic sales jumped four per cent in 2016.
Estée Lauder partners with Google for voice-operated app
Barely three years ago L'Oréal's Makeup Genius app electrified the global beauty industry. It's been downloaded more than 800,000 times in Australia, spring boarding Aussie beauty lovers to the number three ranking in the world on a per capita basis. The tech race has speeded up by leaps and bounds and customer-service chatbots, AI and 360-degree videos have become commonplace. But innovations are just as likely to come from China these days. Meitu, a photo-processing beauty app which brightens the skin and widens the eyes, for example, boasts 270 million active monthly users.
Voice activation has become the trend du jour and 50 per cent of all mobile phone sales are expected to be made orally by 2020. Estée Lauder has become one of the first major beauty multinationals to launch an app for Google Assistant, the voice-enabled digital platform. Debuting in December on Google Home, the app is called Estée Lauder Nighttime Expert and is a bid to attract younger consumers.
"Adding voice experiences will unlock the next level of personalisation and help us reach a new generation of consumers", says Trish Nichols, Vice President, Global Consumer Engagement, Estée Lauder. The multinational will roll out the app globally in early 2018.
Snippets from the wires
- Jurlique has been kicking major international goals since being acquired by Japanese giant Pola Orbis and is now available in 20 countries. On Friday, the prestige natural skincare brand returns to its roots in South Australia with the opening of its biggest flagship store in Adelaide's Rundle Mall.
- AmorePacific, South Korea's largest cosmetics company, has become a global Top 10 player. Over the past few years, the Asian colossus has been boosting the worldwide presence of its champion brands, including Innisfree and Sulwhasoo. AmorePacific's last international buyout was iconic French fragrance brand, Annick Goutal, in 2011. But to speed up global expansion, Chairman Suh Kyung-bae has announced the company will be on the look-out for more international buys in 2018.
- Too Faced, acquired by Estée Lauder just over a year ago for $US1.4 billion, is crossing The Pond to launch its first global flagship store. London's famous Carnaby Street is the location and the 200 square metre store will be swinging open its doors on December 2. The brand was previously available in the UK through department store stalwarts Selfridges and Debenhams.
