Shiseido Co Ltd, Kao Corp and Kose Corp are among the most respected cosmetics brand sin Japan. They have realized the need to introduce high-end products into the Japanese market though the economy of the island nation has slumped. They have launched 120,000 yen or $1,316 worth jars of face creams that help fight the effects of ageing.
These products may also be marketed to wealthy Chinese women who are quite ready to buy them. Apparently, these products are not even being bought by the richest, but ordinary Japanese women above the age of 40, who have a lot of money to spend and are willing to spend the kind of money these products demand.
Interestingly, the sales have been exceptionally good for low end products and high end products, where as the mid range products have failed miserably. Could this be an indication to the fact that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? Perhaps the recession has affected the middle class the most, while the rich and the poor seem to be consuming as much as they did earlier. However, the west seems to be doing bad.
