Chantecaille & Jo Malone Launch in Japan

The flagship store of Isetan department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, is reputed to be the world's most profitable beauty floor. Indeed, it is usually a bustling hive of activity with the cash registers ringing non-stop. Unlike the beauty floors of department stores in Singapore which are often deathly quiet with SAs outnumbering customers, the beauty floors of Japanese department stores are often packed as Japanese ladies are far more willing to spend on skincare and makeup. For example, it's not unusual to see 10 SAs at the RMK counter in Isetan, all busy serving customers.

Isetan is also known for carrying brands that are not available anywhere else, such as Giorgio Armani cosmetics. In September, another two brands, Chantecaille and Jo Malone will be launched for the first time in Japan at Isetan's Shinjuku store.



Sadly, the prices in Japan are marked up significantly over the prices in US, by an average of about 40%. Here's a comparison of some of the product prices.

Shadow & Rose Palette: US$79 vs 12600yen (US$117)
Future Skin Foundation: US$65 vs 9765yen (US$91)
Cheek Color Powder: US$26 vs 3990yen (US$37)
Lipstick: US$26 vs 3990yen (US$37)

Click here to see the list of Chantecaille products and their prices in Japan.

Similarly, Jo Malone, which is already a very pricey brand, is also more expensive in Japan with the 100ml colognes retailing at 14,700yen (US$137) compared to US$100 in the US and £59 (US$103) in the UK while the 200ml bath oils are 12,600yen (US$117) compared to US$100 in US and £52 (US$91) in the UK. (The prices in Japan include 5% sales tax.)