Shiseido's new global innovation center in Yokohama, Japan, will include an "open lab" fostering direct exchanges with consumers, integration of research facilities with logistics, and centralization of customer and technical infromation.
The site represents an investment of 6.55 billion JPY for the land and 30–40 billion JPY (estimate) for the construction. The site will have a total floor space of 57,000 square meters.
The facility will begin operations in 2018 and will focus on sales growth and cost innovations via marketing and R&D.
From an R&D perspective, the site will "establish and expand a more regionally-oriented research framework for the purpose of strengthening product development and marketing capabilities by country and region at the research centers that currently exist in Japan, China, Southeast Asia (Thailand), Europe (France) and the United States," according to the company.
Shiseido will add 500 researchers through 2020. It will also expand its fields of research to bolster innovation. Overall, the company will increase the ratio of R&D expenses to net sales to 2.5% by 2020, from the current 1.8%.
The company explains, "To ensure that the study of cosmetics and other beauty businesses moves forward, we must go beyond scientific approaches. We must also realize how indispensable it is to take on a more emotional approach that values a human connection when dealing with ordinary people and the market. It is important that researchers stay in touch with our sensitivity by never falling unaware of the changes in the times or the city, directly feeling the dynamism of ordinary people and the changes in people's lifestyles."
