Pierre Fabre Dermo-cosmétique Japon Co., Ltd.

Pierre Fabre has a long history with Japan, dating back to 1986, when it established Pierre Fabre Japon Co., Ltd. (“PFJ”) as a joint venture with Shiseido to import and sell skin-care products.

Pierre Fabre also set up PFDCJ in 2002, its wholly-owned subsidiary, to undertake sale of the group’s cosmetics brands other than Avène and to initiate local product development. Since the commencement of Pierre Fabre’s operations in Japan, “Avène” mainly sold by PFJ under the category of dermatological cosmetics for consumers, and “René Furterer,” sold by PFDCJ under the category of hair-care products for professional use, have built a strong reputation as main products.

“Japan is very special to Pierre Fabre Group,” said Laurent Martin, President of PFDCJ. The year 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of Pierre Fabre’s subsidiary in Japan, which reflects the development of its globalization. “Pierre Fabre’s globalization started from Japan. Among overseas markets outside Europe, it was in the Japanese market that Pierre Fabre succeeded for the first time,” continues Mr. Martin. Pierre Fabre had a hard time in responding to Japanese consumers’ demand because of their detailed requests, but answering such needs enabled Pierre Fabre to establish the global standards for its entire group. “Our staff has the impression that our history in Japan has brought Pierre Fabre its current success in the global market,” said Mr. Martin.

PFDCJ now has 29 employees, of which six are researchers, and they engage in the development of products targeted at Japanese and Asian markets as well as sales of hair-care products for professional use. The company opened the Asia Innovation Center PFDC, which was Pierre Fabre Group’s first overseas R&D center outside France, in Japan in 2014. “Although we had been developing products for the Japanese market at laboratories in France, it was difficult to explain the meanings of words such as sara-sara (a smooth, dry texture) and shittori (a moist texture) to French staff. It was also difficult to make the staff understand textures that Japanese people prefer and the way Japanese people use cosmetics,” Mr. Martin recalled. Pierre Fabre then judged that local research and development would be vital to create products that could meet Japanese consumers’ needs, and this judgment led to the establishment of the R&D center in Japan.

Pierre Fabre had wanted an R&D center in Asia as it had expected future growth in Asian skin-care product markets. In addition to Japan, it had also studied the possibility of making Singapore or China the location of its Asian R&D center. In terms of cost, Japan was inferior to the other two countries. However, the following point mattered the most: “In Japan, we have relationships of trust with Japanese companies, strong networks with cosmetics-related contract manufacturers and ingredient manufacturers, the know-how in the production of cosmetics, and a sense of speed for product development that Pierre Fabre has nurtured over the last 30 years.” Mr. Martin went on to say, “Under the brand of Avène, we sell cosmetics developed by using the functions of hot springs in the village of Avène located in southern France, and we pitch the point that it is ‘made in France.’ When we thought about where we could manufacture the products under this brand outside France, Japan came up because Japan is reliable in terms of quality.”

PFDCJ is now placing the highest priority on hair-care products for professional use. Its new office is fully equipped with a studio and a seminar room where training sessions about how to use the products can be held. PFDCJ said it would like to open this kind of facility in Kansai and Kyushu regions to expand this business.

Pierre Fabre excels in hair-care products in the French market, including scalp care for new hair growth. In Japan, these products are treated under the category of quasi-drugs because of regulations and laws. However, PFDCJ expects these products have potential, and is planning to increase the number of researchers from six to ten in 2016. “We would like to develop new products at the Asia Innovation Center PFDC to further expand the hair-care line in the future,” Mr. Martin said.