Shiro expands out of Japan into UK

Shiro has increased its brand presence. The beauty brand has expanded into the UK market by opening two new stores and website to complement its existing location on King’s Road, London, UK.

The two new stores are located on Monmouth Street in Covent Garden and St. Christopher’s Place, close to Oxford Street in the West End.

Following its strategy​

Using natural ingredients, the Japanese beauty name sells skin care, hair care, cosmetics and fragrances.

Commenting on its recent store opening last month, Shiro noted that one of its new stores located in St. Christopher’s Place showcased “a sophisticated view into the world of Shiro”.​

Sophisticated marketing​

The new store has heavily focused on its design and sensory concepts, “utilising textures of ceramic, wood and iron”​. As the Made In Japan label continues to gather pace, the beauty brand emphasised that despite its new British surrounding, the in-store furniture is “made in Japan”​.

A new store opening provides a fresh marketing opportunity, and Shiro leveraged its new launch to promote its Shiro make up — featured for the first time in London — and a complimentary range to its skin care collection. It also exclusively unveiled its Chakrasana fragrance at the new brick-and-mortar store.

The brand’s Chakrasana fragrance, described as “a deeply relaxing blend of orange, clove and geranium available in eau de parfum, body care and home fragrance”, also exclusively launched at the second new London-based store on Monmouth Street to boost its UK expansion plans.

Japanese heritage ​

Shiro selected London as its first city outside of Japan. The jump into the UK beauty sphere focuses on affluence and aspirational Millennial consumers, along with tourists seeking premium prestige beauty collections.

Appealing to this younger demographic, Shiro has prioritised using main ingredients hailing from Japan. These include natural by-products from the Sake production process, Sake Kasu, along with Gagome Kombu, which draws upon kelp and its moisturisation capabilities.

A range of ingredients completes the beauty range. These include: rhubarb, rugrosa rose for its balancing capabilities, ice plant, olive to moisturise, adzuki for pore cleansing and shea butter to overcome dryness.

Architectural design​

Naoki Mizushima, the In-House Architect and Executive Director of Shiro, was once again selected to conceptualise and create the direction of Shiro’s beauty brands in the UK.

Flowing consistently from the design of the company’s existing stores, the architect used vintage-aged wood for the flooring and shelves. It also used Manchurian ash wood, a native tree to northeastern Asia, to reflect its heritage.

Focusing on its natural brand messaging, Mizushima accessed antique pendant light fixtures and a freestanding bathtub, to act as focal points in the store.