The Japanese conglomerate Kosé Corporation with a portfolio of iconic beauty and wellness brands will launch its first stand-alone US store at The Shops at Santa Anita in Los Angeles. Founded in 1946 by Kozaburo Kobayashi, Kosé is headquartered in Tokyo and has a portfolio of more than 30 brands sold in 68 regions and countries.
Located at 400 South Baldwin Avenue, Maison Kosé is an intersection of unique vignettes that amplify Japanese beauty culture across the 1,230-square-foot store footprint. Grounded in the company's 3G strategy (global, gender, generation) the store will integrate shopping with entertainment, education, technology, and local community interaction.
According to Google, search interest in "Japanese Beauty" has increased every year for the past 5 years and is up 11% in the first 4 month of 2024 compared to 2023. It will play a key role in the company's promotion of the culture of J-beauty in the market through its unique products and services.
Products: Merchandising of the store will take a cross-branded approach to offering best-selling products that range in price from $3 to $1,000. The assortment includes brands well-known in the US like Decorté, Sekkisei and Addiction Tokyo. The store also features eight new brands to the US Market including Kosé Infinity, One by Kosé, Softymo and men's brand Magnifique.
Expertise: Beauty consultants will be on hand to guide the consumer journey through the store and offer personalized solutions and beauty rituals. Visitors can also utilize a skin diagnostic machine for individualized beauty assessments.
Entertainment: Activations will be offered throughout the store, including a gift experience that allows customers to print customized text on products and ribbons for the perfect gift presentation.
Kosé global ambassador Shohei Ohtani from the Los Angeles Dodgers will be present throughout the store in videos, images, and displayed signed memorabilia. Kosé invites fans to get game ready in-store with spirited makeup looks. The marketing campaign extends to Dodgers Stadium where ads will be running and Kosé will have a presence at games to offer product sampling.
The Santa Anita location was chosen for the high foot traffic with a built in beauty consumer shopping at Sephora and Nordstrom and because the area has an established Asian community.
The Kobayashi family has managed the firm since it was established. It is the third-largest cosmetics company in Japan and the second-largest in the premium segment, capturing 13.6%of the market according to Euromonitor. Japan remains the beauty giant's largest market, contributing nearly 57% of sales, followed by Asia (28%) and North America (14%).
