The end of more
During the Covid19 crisis people spend most of their time at home. Working from home while meeting friends and family takes place virtually on the computer and restaurant visits are replaced by delivery services. What is the use of make-up and perfume, many have thought. How much has the consumption of cosmetics changed in the age of the face mask? Who are the winners? Are clean beauty and sustainable packaging the new drivers of the industry? An interview with Catharina Christe, General Manager of the Prestige Division at Shiseido Germany in Düsseldorf in the Media Harbour.
Applying thick make-up is a thing of the past – this is also reflected in the sales figures. How much has the crisis affected the beauty business? Have make-up and skincare habits changed?
Fewer lipsticks are purchased and make-up and fragrance sales are in decline. Whereas in the past it was said that the worse the economic situation was, the better lipstick, that little luxury, was selling, mascara and eye shadow are booming now. Your eyes are the main focus when wearing a face mask. The good news is: there is no general beauty lockdown. Especially with working from home and social distancing, a more time-consuming, elaborate care routine makes sense for many, especially as face masks can quickly trigger problems such as dryness or impurities. In recent months, the bathroom has advanced to a home spa: people feel the need to treat themselves more, pampering themselves with lotions, creams, serums, toners or a variety of masks, and in doing so they rely on internationally renowned premium brands such as Shiseido – Germany’s market leader in selective face care for 20 years.
What have been your biggest challenges since joining Shiseido?
Without a question – the first lockdown in March. Simultaneously, we planned to launch our third skincare line Vital Perfection – in addition to the brands Benefiance and Bio-Performance. We were present everywhere: 1000 shop windows in perfumeries all over Germany decorated accordingly, the biggest out-of-home advertising (super posters and digital steles) was to start, the complete media campaigns were launched and we sailed directly into the lockdown with our biggest investment so far. What to do? We didn't change or cut anything, instead we kept the visibility high for weeks. Because, unlike in France or Italy, we still could take a walk and stroll through the streets here. So, during the shop closures alone, we sold 16,000 jars of the new high-priced series and proved to be winners in this crisis.
“people have always used
cosmetics to look better
and feel good.”
The indie label Drunk Elephant is considered a pioneer of the Clean Beauty movement.
What are the prospects?
So far, our overall decline in sales has been in the single-digit range. However, no one can foresee how things will turn out at the end of the fourth quarter after the Christmas business. A face mask means half the market, which is particularly noticeable in the decorative cosmetics segment with a decline of at least 30 percent. In addition, concealer, lipstick and the like can no longer be tried out in the shop before the customer decides on a product. In addition to online tutorials with make-up instructions, we have therefore equipped the sales assistants with face charts so that the customer can draw her make-up on paper. But I am confident: people have always used cosmetics to look better and feel good. And that won’t disappear with Covid19.
The crisis is accelerating many developments. What new trends will boost Shiseido's business?
Put boldly: “The end of more”. Less and sustainable packaging, glass jars and if plastic is used it should at least be 100 percent recycled. The key point: beauty defines itself as clean as possible again. The trend is towards naturalness and care. It is decisive what is in the individual products – or rather what they do not contain: i.e. avoiding ingredients that irritate the skin – such as paraffin oils, synthetic fragrances, silicones, synthetic sun protection factors. The active ingredients must be biocompatible, skin-identical, like with the clean beauty brand Drunk Elephant, which Shiseido acquired a few months ago. Different skin types and age are irrelevant – skin equals skin here. With the beauty start-up brand, founded in the USA, we were lucky to be the first continental European country to launch the brand in Germany, together with Europe's beauty market leader Douglas. And the brand has “taken off” – especially with millennials, Generation Z and numerous influencers and celebrities.
Particularly Japanese brands like Shiseido (founded in 1872, one of the oldest cosmetics companies in the world and rooted in Germany’s beauty capital Düsseldorf for 40 years) are very much in demand. What can we learn from the Asian way of life in terms of cosmetic and make-up habits?
Cleansing is the beginning of all skincare. Asian women are used to daily, multi-stage skincare rituals. These range from thorough and gentle cleansing to intensive nourishment and care of the skin. In Asia, beauty is associated with relaxation and well-being a lot more than it is over here. •
Shiseido Germany
Kaistr. 20a, 40221 Düsseldorf, Germany
www.shiseido.de
Catharina Christe
Catharina Christe has been General Manager of the Prestige Division at Shiseido Germany in Düsseldorf's Media Harbour since 1 October 2019. After studying business administration at the University of Bamberg and the Warwick Business School in the UK, it quickly became clear to the 41-year-old Düsseldorfer-by-choice that she wanted a job in the beauty industry. After working for Henkel, where she was lastly responsible for the international hair colouring business, her path led her to the luxury brand Dior. There she was head of German marketing for four years.
Words Dagmar Haas-Pilwat
Pictures Shiseido / Adrian Bedoy