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- First Japanese beauty and lifestyle retailer to use data as a tool to select its product offerings
- Over 1,000 curated beauty and lifestyle products
- A customer-centric and highly personalised shopping experience
In today’s skincare and beauty industry, new product development and innovation are happening faster than ever. Even in the midst of a pandemic, the beauty industry shows no sign of slowing down. Globally, the beauty industry is only getting stronger. Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been a growth in the skincare and personal care category as well as a growing demand for overseas beauty products since travel restrictions has made it hard for people to travel.
Maintaining competitive product portfolios in a market with such rapid change depends on how easily beauty brands can capture and capitalize on shifting consumer trends and the data they capture, in real time. With shopping preferences differing from various demographics and among individuals, brands looking to dominate this industry must follow a customer-centric model that intersects both digital and physical channels.
First of its kind in Singapore
It is with this vision in mind that led Tony Wang, CEO and co-founder of OsakaKuma, to launch the brand in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic. While COVID-19 disrupted the plans for physical store launches, it did not stop Tony as he launched the brand via online channels whilst working on the brick-and-mortar stores.
With $2M initial funding in 2020 and $6M raised this year from its series Pre-A funding, OsakaKuma positions itself as the first beauty and personal care store in Singapore to offer a data-driven product selection of best-selling and exclusive Japanese beauty and personal care brands.
It does so by using data gathered from over 100,000 surveyed customers from 15 online stores worldwide, 7 physical stores in Japan, 1 physical store in Hong Kong and 2 physical stores in Singapore. Using the help of data, the team can target consumer needs and demands in a more precise manner instead of mindless guessing. This process saves time which in turn translates to savings for the customers.
As more stores are planted across Singapore, the brand is also looking to do more targeted product offering according to geo-locations to better serve the customer needs.
Going against all odds
In a time where established brands are shutting down their brick-and-mortar stores, OsakaKuma is going against the odds to open more physical stores as it recognises the need for a physical channel if they want to be a customer-centric brand. “We believe that data can provide access to analyses of consumer needs and we want to do that via the different channels available – online and offline. While we see the trend has grown for e-commerce, we believe that many would still prefer to enjoy the physical shopping experience, having our in-store beauty curators to guide and help them,” says Tony Wang, CEO and co-founder of OsakaKuma.
With its first store launched in Bugis+ in September 2020, OsakaKuma has since opened 3 more outlets in Paya Lebar Quarter, Wisma Atria and Vivo City. Wisma Atria, the brand’s flagship store was opened in June 2021, same period at VivoCity outlet. The brand is set to open 3 more outlets, Jurong Point, Junction 8 and Plaza Singapura by end July 2021 and has plans to open more outlets in the years to come. This is part of an effort to cater to more customers around the neighbourhood and to create more touchpoints for consumers.
Since February 2020, OsakaKuma has spread its footprint to 6 countries, opened 15 online stores and made over 1,000 Japanese single-brand products available to the rest of the world.
100% authentic and curated products from Japan
OsakaKuma features a carefully curated range of over 1000+ collections, including best-selling, Japan-exclusive versions. All products are guaranteed 100% authentic, directly purchased from Japan, shipped to the warehouse in Singapore then delivered to customers through both online and offline omni-channels.
Featuring brands like SKII, Shiseido, POLA, The Ginza, Fancl and more, all products have been carefully selected and one can be assured that they are of the best-selling and most popular ones in Japan.
Customer-centric shopping experience
At OsakaKuma, the brand is committed to serving its customers’ needs. It aims to differentiate itself by creating a unique experience tailored to individuals, and with its curated product offering, it offers a highly personalized customer shopping experience. Instead of mindless browsing, customers get to shop for what they really need across the five categories offered – skincare, cosmetics, personal care, mother and baby and healthcare.
It also connects with its customers via social media marketing tools to learn more of consumers’ needs and, through accurate judgements, personalize after-sales services, activate repurchasing prompts and complete the value life cycle loop of every beauty lover who loves to shop and stay ahead of beauty trends.
At the core of its business is the belief that to be the best retailer of the future, one must be an efficient and localized customer-centric service company, a goal it is striving to achieve with the use of strong data-driven strategies. Using the latest technology to provide a seamless shopping journey, its long-term plan is to establish itself as a trusted beauty and lifestyle retailer in Singapore by constantly updating the curated product offerings and to be a leader in the Japanese beauty industry in Southeast Asia through data-driven content delivery and technological innovation.
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