TOKYO -- While Japan's top household goods maker Kao is competing effectively with far larger global rivals such as U.S.-based Procter & Gamble and Anglo-Dutch company Unilever, its cosmetics business continues to struggle but the company is hoping that a newly launched skin lotion could boost sales.
To reinvigorate its lackluster cosmetics division, Kao created a new product dubbed "est the lotion" that started sales in September last year. Kao, which lags far behind domestic cosmetics rivals like Shiseido and Kose in sales to tourists from China and other Asian countries, is seeking to catch up with them by focusing on promoting the new lotion.
