Shiseido Group released its annual report for 2021 showing that the group achieved sales of $8.969 billion last year, up 12.4% year-on-year. At the same time, the Shiseido Group also transferred its SHISEIDO PROFESSIONAL to Germany’s Henkel Group.
On the afternoon of Feb. 9, Shiseido Group released its 2021 annual report, showing that the group achieved its sales of $8.969 billion, up 12.4% year-on-year. Its operating profit recorded $360 million, a 177.9% jump year-on-year.
It is worth mentioning that Shiseido’s sales in China amounted to $2.382 billion, up 16.5% year-on-year in 2021. At the same time, China’s share of the Shiseido Group’s overall results increased from 19.1% in 2019 to 25.6% in 2020 and this share further increased to 26.6% in 2021. Meanwhile, China remains the Shiseido Group’s largest overseas market,and the share of sales in China and the Shiseido Group’s domestic sales in Japan has almost been equal.
In addition, Shiseido expects that the group recorded its net sales of $9.532 million in fiscal 2022, up 14% in real terms (excluding the impact of business transfers). Shiseido said its goal is to recover the market by further expanding sales and improving the efficiency of cost rates and marketing investments by focusing on high-end skin and beauty brands.
It is worth noting that on the same day of the 2021 financial report release, the Shiseido Group and Schwarzkopf’s parent company Henkel Group released news that Henkel Group will acquire SHISEIDO PROFESSIONAL in Asia Pacific.
It is reported that SHISEIDO PROFESSIONAL includes hair conditioner, hair color, perm/straightening agent and styling agent products. According to the agreement, Shiseido Group will license the trademark SHISEIDO PROFESSIONAL to Henkel while the brands SUBLIMIC (hair care), PRIMIENCE (hair color), CRYSTALLIZING (perm), STAGE WORKS (styling) and THE GROOMING (men) will be transferred to Henkel.
In terms of the form of transfer, it is still a transition through a subsidiary. With Shiseido transferring the assets related to the company’s hairdressing business held in Japan to its 100%-owned subsidiary, it will transfer 80% of the subsidiary’s shares to a subsidiary of Henkel Group, as well as transferring the shares and related assets of the subsidiary’s overseas target business to Henkel Group.
Shiseido said that SHISEIDO PROFESSIONAL in Japan will be operated by Shiseido Professional Inc. (SPI). Shiseido will retain a 20% stake in SPI to provide continued support for the growth of the business.
It is reported that SHISEIDO PROFESSIONAL began in 1974 as a business supplies sales division and was established in 2004 as Shiseido Professional Inc (“SPI”) after several acquisitions and consolidations. According to the Shiseido Group’s 2020 financial results, Henkel’s proposed acquisition of SHISEIDO PROFESSIONAL has annual sales of approximately $114 million, which employs more than 500 people and has strong R&D capabilities.
In response, Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel said, “This acquisition will also further strengthen our professional hairdressing business and will be an important part of our consumer brands business unit in the future.”
Neither parties has disclosed the price of the transaction at this time.