Shiseido announces CEO succession plan
Shiseido Company has named Kentaro Fujiwara as its new CEO, replacing Masahiko Uotani, who will retire at the end of this year.
Fujiwara will take on the new role from 1 January 2025, having previously served as chief operating officer at the Japanese beauty group.
The appointment follows a five-year CEO succession plan, where Fujiwara was named as a CEO candidate and company president and chief operating officer in 2022. At the time, Uotani announced his intention to retire.
Both Fujiwara and Uotani have been working together to complete a successful leadership transition. Since the handover has been proceeding "smoothly", the company's board has now adopted the resolution of succession.
Earlier this year, Shiseido reported an increase in sales to £1.2 billion (¥249.5 billion) for the first quarter, but faced continued challenges in China and across its travel retail business.
Sales lifted 3.9% on a reported basis for the three months ending 31 March 2024, but dropped 2.7% on a constant currency basis.
It delivered "robust" growth in Japan, the Americas and EMEA, bolstered by innovations and new product launches.
