10.25.23
Kosé is #19 on our Top Global Beauty Companies 2023 Report.
Below is a look at the company's 2023 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands and latest innovations.
Net sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 were $2.2 billion, up 7.5% compared to the prior year. In 2022, although sales in China were affected by the continuation of lockdowns and there was a decline in sales in South Korea, sales were driven by the high prestige brand products sold at department stores and specialty cosmetics stores in Japan; and Tarte, which sells products mainly in the U.S. and Europe.
In the cosmetics business, sales in the high prestige category remained strong for Decorté and Albion products in Japan, but sales were sluggish in China, except the travel retail sector and South Korea.
Sales of Jill Stuart and Addiction products increased along with the recovering demand in the makeup market in Japan. At Tarte, sales of major products and new products were both higher in the U.S. and Europe due to successful promotion on SNS.
Sales of Sekkisei, one of Kosé’s major prestige brands, were recovering from the second half of 2022. As a result, sales in the cosmetics business increased 7.9% from 2021 to $1.8 billion.
In the cosmetaries business, sales of Bioliss, a haircare brand, were sluggish. However, sales of Clear Turn, makeup brand Visée and haircare brand Stephen Knoll New York increased. As a result, sales in the cosmetaries business increased 6.2% from 2021 to $396 million.
During the year, Kosé reorganized its “Mission, Vision, and Values,” and defined the Kosé Beauty Partnership as “a representation of the values that it has nurtured since it was founded and its mutually beneficial relationships with stakeholders.”
In addition, the company defined the 3 Gs (“Global,” “Gender” and “Generation”) as themes to pursue in terms of strengthening its ongoing efforts to build a new customer base; while enhancing the customer experience it has been rethinking its activities from a well-being perspective, not just in the conventional area of beauty.
Looking at its progress toward the performance targets for Vision 2026, Kosé made headway in terms of its overseas sales ratio and in building a portfolio of new sales channels including e-commerce and travel retail. On the other hand, the company acknowledged that it has underperformed in its progress toward the targets it established for net sales and profit margin.
“Our most important goal for Vision 2026 is to evolve into ‘a company with ultimately high loyalty’ and to become a company with a global presence. In fiscal 2023, we will build on the groundwork we have laid by ramping up our marketing investments and continuing our growth toward fiscal 2026, the plan’s final year,” Kobayashi said.
In January 2023, Kosé developed a new skincare range—Aman Essential Skin. The range is focused on damage caused by external environmental factors such as UV rays and dryness, and includes facial and body care treatments. Formulas include ancient purple rice bran extract and indigo extract—two plant ingredients that have long been treasured in Japan.
In March 2023, Kosé tapped Japanese professional baseball player Shohei Ohtani as its newest global ambassador. Ohtani has been featured in Kosé’s advertising campaigns throughout the U.S. during the baseball season, promoting the company’s popular skincare products such as lotion and sun care from its brands Decorté and Sekkisei. The campaigns not only focus on healthy-looking skin but also on promoting healthy lifestyles.
In June 2023, Kosé developed in collaborative research with Professor Kenji Izumi and his colleagues at Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences a three-dimensional epithelial model that reproduces the human lip area from the oral mucosa to the lips and surrounding skin, using cell culture. This will make it possible to verify the efficacy and safety evaluations of cosmetic ingredients and products on a structure more similar to the actual lip area, which has been limited until now to verification using standard skin and oral mucosa in vitro models.
In Japan, Kosé plans to maintain the strong performance of high-prestige brands and drive sales by strengthening measures in the drugstore channel to capture increased demand in the market. In Greater China, including duty-free, the company expects economic activity to normalize in the future, but believes that the negative impact of restrained purchasing of merchandise by travel retailers will linger in travel retail in South Korea.
While Kosé will keep its eyes on Europe and the U.S. until the year-end sales season, which is largely influenced by economic trends, it says it will continue to invest in aggressive marketing activities for Tarte and in expanding recognition for the Kosé brand.
Read Next: Revlon is #20.
Below is a look at the company's 2023 highlights, recent acquisitions, best-selling brands and latest innovations.
Beauty Sales:
$2.2 billionKey Personnel:
- Kazutoshi Kobayashi, president & CEO
- Takao Kobayashi, senior executive director
- Masanori Kobayashi, executive director
- Koichi Shibusawa, executive director
Major Products/Brands:
"High Prestige"
Decorté, JillStuart, Sekkisei Miyabi, Infinity, Predia, Addiction, Awake, tarte, iMPREAPrestige
Sekkisei, One by Kosé, Lechéri, Esprique, Astaluxe, X-Barrier, Acneo, Maihada, Carté HD"Cosmetaries" (Mass Market)
Visée, Fasio, Nailholic, Make Keep Mist, Stephen Knoll New York, Softymo, Je l’aime, Bioliss, Clear Turn, Suncut, Magnifique, Grace One.New Products
- Decorté Liposome Advanced Repair Serum
- Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip series
- Tarte sculpt tape countour
- Je l’aime Relax nighttime hair care products
- Make Keep Powder, Decorté Eye Glow Serum Skin Shadow
Financial Summary
In 2022, Kosé started to see a gradual recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in many parts of the world. According to Kosé president & CEO Kazutoshi Kobayashi, demand for travel retail in Asia is on the rebound, and cosmetics markets in the United States are also growing steadily, supported by reliable consumer spending. As a result, Kosé’s sales grew in step with the recovery in market demand.Net sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 were $2.2 billion, up 7.5% compared to the prior year. In 2022, although sales in China were affected by the continuation of lockdowns and there was a decline in sales in South Korea, sales were driven by the high prestige brand products sold at department stores and specialty cosmetics stores in Japan; and Tarte, which sells products mainly in the U.S. and Europe.
In the cosmetics business, sales in the high prestige category remained strong for Decorté and Albion products in Japan, but sales were sluggish in China, except the travel retail sector and South Korea.
Sales of Jill Stuart and Addiction products increased along with the recovering demand in the makeup market in Japan. At Tarte, sales of major products and new products were both higher in the U.S. and Europe due to successful promotion on SNS.
Sales of Sekkisei, one of Kosé’s major prestige brands, were recovering from the second half of 2022. As a result, sales in the cosmetics business increased 7.9% from 2021 to $1.8 billion.
In the cosmetaries business, sales of Bioliss, a haircare brand, were sluggish. However, sales of Clear Turn, makeup brand Visée and haircare brand Stephen Knoll New York increased. As a result, sales in the cosmetaries business increased 6.2% from 2021 to $396 million.
2022/2023 Highlights
As a medium-to-long-term initiative, fiscal 2022 was also the first year of Vision 2026 Phase II, which aims to “increase Kosé’s global presence and improve the customer experience.”During the year, Kosé reorganized its “Mission, Vision, and Values,” and defined the Kosé Beauty Partnership as “a representation of the values that it has nurtured since it was founded and its mutually beneficial relationships with stakeholders.”
In addition, the company defined the 3 Gs (“Global,” “Gender” and “Generation”) as themes to pursue in terms of strengthening its ongoing efforts to build a new customer base; while enhancing the customer experience it has been rethinking its activities from a well-being perspective, not just in the conventional area of beauty.
Looking at its progress toward the performance targets for Vision 2026, Kosé made headway in terms of its overseas sales ratio and in building a portfolio of new sales channels including e-commerce and travel retail. On the other hand, the company acknowledged that it has underperformed in its progress toward the targets it established for net sales and profit margin.
“Our most important goal for Vision 2026 is to evolve into ‘a company with ultimately high loyalty’ and to become a company with a global presence. In fiscal 2023, we will build on the groundwork we have laid by ramping up our marketing investments and continuing our growth toward fiscal 2026, the plan’s final year,” Kobayashi said.
In January 2023, Kosé developed a new skincare range—Aman Essential Skin. The range is focused on damage caused by external environmental factors such as UV rays and dryness, and includes facial and body care treatments. Formulas include ancient purple rice bran extract and indigo extract—two plant ingredients that have long been treasured in Japan.
In March 2023, Kosé tapped Japanese professional baseball player Shohei Ohtani as its newest global ambassador. Ohtani has been featured in Kosé’s advertising campaigns throughout the U.S. during the baseball season, promoting the company’s popular skincare products such as lotion and sun care from its brands Decorté and Sekkisei. The campaigns not only focus on healthy-looking skin but also on promoting healthy lifestyles.
In June 2023, Kosé developed in collaborative research with Professor Kenji Izumi and his colleagues at Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences a three-dimensional epithelial model that reproduces the human lip area from the oral mucosa to the lips and surrounding skin, using cell culture. This will make it possible to verify the efficacy and safety evaluations of cosmetic ingredients and products on a structure more similar to the actual lip area, which has been limited until now to verification using standard skin and oral mucosa in vitro models.
Looking Ahead
For the first quarter of 2023, net sales grew 15.5% year over year to $505 million, fueled mainly by Japan and Tarte, which offset sluggish sales in China and South Korea.In Japan, Kosé plans to maintain the strong performance of high-prestige brands and drive sales by strengthening measures in the drugstore channel to capture increased demand in the market. In Greater China, including duty-free, the company expects economic activity to normalize in the future, but believes that the negative impact of restrained purchasing of merchandise by travel retailers will linger in travel retail in South Korea.
While Kosé will keep its eyes on Europe and the U.S. until the year-end sales season, which is largely influenced by economic trends, it says it will continue to invest in aggressive marketing activities for Tarte and in expanding recognition for the Kosé brand.
Read Next: Revlon is #20.