Cosmetics & Personal Care Sector (Japan) DATA & NEWS: Solid domestic demand for cosmetics but some signs of uncertainty for overseas demand in April

Research evidence excerpt

Cosmetics & Personal Care Sector (Japan) DATA & NEWS: Solid domestic demand for cosmetics but some signs of uncertainty for overseas demand in April

J P M O R G A N Asia Pacific Equity Research

18 May 2026

Cosmetics & Personal Care

Sector (Japan)

DATA & NEWS: Solid domestic demand for cosmetics

but some signs of uncertainty for overseas demand in

April

Cosmetics sales at major department stores in April were between flat YoY to up Japan Equity Research

by high single digits (%), and momentum continued to improve. Our impression

Cosmetics and Personal Care /

is that domestic demand remains solid. Meanwhile, China’s cosmetics imports fell Paper and Packaging

YoY for the first time in four months in April, while sales growth momentum in AC Akiko Kuwahara

April weakened at large retailers. This should not help allay uncertainties about the

(81-3) 6736-8617

sales environment for Japanese cosmetics companies like Shiseido and Kosé akiko.kuwahara@jpmorgan.com

Holdings. In contrast, sales of toiletries accelerated slightly MoM in March. JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd.

Households may be stocking up in response to the situation in the Middle East

worsening. Our focus is on measures to offset input costs at Kao, Unicharm, and

Lion.

• April sales trends in China: According to data released on May 18, April sales

at large retailers in China grew 4.7% YoY (March: +8.3%) for cosmetics and

3.5% (+4.6%) for daily necessities. China’s cosmetics and toiletries imports in

April changed direction and fell 10.5% YoY (March: +8.3%).

• Domestic cosmetics sales trends (March to first half of May): March

cosmetics sales grew 6.3% YoY (February: +3.5%) at drugstores but fell 4.1%

(–10.0%) at department stores. March household spending data shows online