Japan Marketing News

Expect more male cosmetics in Japan

Japan's cosmetics business is huge, but it's also mature, so manufacturers have been looking to grow by tapping new markets. Most evident is their ongoing reach into other parts of Asia, but some companies are taking advantage of underdeveloped opportunities at home too.

According to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, while overall domestic cosmetics revenues have been down slightly in recent years, sales of men's skincare products were up 17% in 2008.

Pictured at left is UL・OS skincare lotion, a new brand that was launched by Otsuka Seiyaku last September.

At the moment, the UL・OS lineup includes two other products besides the skin lotion (skin milk and skin cream), but in a couple of weeks one more will join the fold: a water-based SPF 25 sunscreen.

In light of other industry stats, this makes sense. In '08, Japan's sun protection lotions and cosmetics markets also grew 12%.

"Kim" and "Becky" amongst most used celebs in Japanese ads

It's no secret that Japanese TV commercials heavily rely on the use of celebrities both domestic and foreign, or that it's common to see famous faces appearing for multiple brands during the year (often with ads for different companies airing at the same time).

But which performers are most in demand?

According to data compiled by Japan Monitor, amongst male celebrities, singer/actor Takuya Kimura (a.k.a. "Kim Taku") appeared in the most campaigns (10 different brands), while the most oft used female was model/actress/singer "Becky," who starred in ads for 14 companies.

While Kim Taku's affiliation with 10 different brands is impressive, in actuality he tied former pro tennis player Shuzo Matsuoka for first amongst men, and when tallies for both genders were combined, he was matched by five female performers who were featured in 10 TV ads too.

The true runner-up amongst all celebs was TV and film actress Saki Aibu, who showed up in spots for 11 different brands.

More experimentation at Uniqlo website

You can always find something new and interesting on the website of Uniqlo, Japan's leading specialty apparel  retailer. One of the latest things is this page, which features video clips of consumer responses to survey questions about their likes as well as how they feel about Uniqlo and its products. By themselves, the clips might only be interesting to marketers and other retailers, but make them part of an ever-shifting flow of geometric patterns on the website and you have something that might engage some consumers too.

Music downloads in Japan up sharply versus 2007

According to the Recording Industry Association of Japan, paid music downloads in Japan for the first half of 2008 were up 28% (value basis) versus the same period last year. Of the various categories the RIAJ follows, music videos downloaded to PC were 2.35 times higher, marking the greatest increase in terms of value. Conversely, ringtunes downloaded to cell phones were down the most, showing just 86% of the value of those purchased in 2007.

For details on all of the categories, click the below graphic.

Golf boom drives ball imports to Japan to record levels

During Japan's heady bubble era in the late 80's and early 90's, it seemed that every Japanese person I met proclaimed that golf was their favorite hobby. Then the bubble crashed and not a few Japanese companies went belly up—many because they had speculated in real estate, oftentimes investing in the plethora of new and exclusive golf courses being built around the country (many of those went belly up too). But when the cash dried up, it seemed like a lot of casual players lost interest; it was expensive to play and the courses were often crowded. Younger Japanese started spending their money elsewhere.

But in recent years, there's been a change. Golf has become cool again amongst some of Japan's most important trendsetters, otherwise known as OLs ("office ladies").

"1 Seg" and video sharing amongst top content viewed by Japanese cell phone owners

No matter where you turn in the land of the rising sun, you see people staring into their cell phones. Just what are Japanese users doing, besides surfing the web, exchanging e-mail, and looking at photos and video they've shot?

Last month, NetAsia Research conducted a survey amongst 444 people in their teens, 20's and 30's (49.8% male, 50.2% female).

Amongst the questions:

Which of the following rich content do you look at on your cell phone? (Indicate all that apply)

Choices: "1 Seg" (One Seg) broadcasts, video sharing sites, anime, celebrity promotion videos, cell phone novels, cell phone comics.

The top three answers amongst all respondents?

1. "1 Seg" broadcasts (26.1%)
2. Video sharing sites (23.4%)
3. Cell phone novels (17.1%)

Interestingly, teen males and females differed significantly in their usage.

Top 2, male teens

1. "One Seg" (36.2%)
2. Video sharing (31.9%)

Top 2, female teens
1. Cell phone novels (50%)
2. Video sharing (36%)

Japan: product prices increase at record pace

I have lived in Japan for more than 21 years, and for nearly the entire time, prices have either inched up very, very slowly, or have dropped—sometimes considerably. But in the past few months, as energy prices have skyrocketed, nearly every day we've awoken to announcements that one brand or another has raised prices by 10%, 15%, or 20%.

This just off Reuters, via the New York Times:

"Japan’s annual wholesale inflation held near a 27-year high in August, matching expectations and reinforcing views that high costs for raw materials are hurting companies as the nation heads into a recession. The 7.2 percent rise in wholesale prices from a year earlier, as measured by the corporate-goods price index, came after a revised 7.3 percent annual rise for July."