The company says it will start to market key Shiseido skincare and make-up brands in the country through the Panama-based distributor Wisa, which is already an established distributor in the region for luxury cosmetics.
Wisa distributes luxury cosmetic products in duty free airport stores and specialty cosmetics stores throughout Latin America and specifically in Colombia, where the Shiseido brands are expected to soon appear.
The Latin American market has been recording high levels of consumer spending and retail growth, and has proved to be resilient to the global economic downturn that hit European and North American economies hard last year.
Economic and social stability put Colombia on the map
Colombia in particular has been recording high levels of economic growth, due in part to economic stimulus measures for private investment, amid a prolonged period of economic and social stability.
This situation, combined with the fact that Colombia has the third highest population in Latin America, leads the company to believe that the market for prestige cosmetics will expect further in the future.
Shiseido’s announcement to target the Colombian market is the latest in a long line of new markets that have been added to the company’s global distribution though the course of 2010 and now brings the total number of countries it is present in to 81.
Global expansion targets new markets
This year the company is actively pursuing distribution in a wide array of developing markets, including Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mongoloa, Georgia and South Africa.
The expansion is part of the company’s three year plan, which was first executed in 2008, with the ultimate aim of making Shiseido 'a global player representing Asia with its origins in Japan'.
The company has continued to struggle in its native Japan market in the light of a prolonged economic downturn in the country and changing consumer patterns spending patterns.