Shiseido of Japan

Shiseido is a large global corporation known for its lines of cosmetics, skin care products and fragrances. 

Shiseido was founded in 1872 as a pharmaceuticals retailer, turning to cosmetics in 1897. It started as a family business drugstore. The aim of its founder, Fukuhara Arinobu, was to promote the new values and culture of Western pharmacology in a country still dominated by Chinese medicine.

Fukuhara Arinobu, who started his working life in the dispensary of a navy hospital, opened his drugstore at the corner of a newly built brick commercial arcade in Ginza, the fashion district of Tokyo and called it Fukuhara Shiseido.

He was succeeded by Fukuhara Shinzo, who had studied pharmacology at Columbia University and later spent much time in Europe. Shinzo took over the company presidency in 1915. He established Shiseido as a limited partnership in 1921, and subsequently, a joint stock company in 1927.

Shinzo recognized the potential of developing Shiseido’s cosmetics business. By 1915, cosmetics had replaced pharmaceuticals as the core product of the company.

Shinzo introduced Western aesthetic values to Japan through his cosmetics company and paved the way for Japanese women to dream of Western beauty and glamour. He streamlined the firm’s advertising and window displays in the manner of Western Modernist art and photography.

The Shiseido Design Department began in 1916, and the Shiseido style it developed was modern, combining elements of art nouveau and art deco with traditional Japanese art.

Shiseido launched itself into the medium of television in 1958 by becoming the sole sponsor of a television musical show targeted at women aged 18 to 29, which became a major hit.

In 1988, Shiseido acquired Zotos, US based company. The acquisition of Zotos gives it a major presence in professional hair markets around the world.
Shiseido of Japan