Why Takami?

On Feb. 23, L 'Oreal Group announced an agreement to acquire Japanese cosmetics company Takami, saying the group has acquired a license to develop and sell branded products. L 'Oreal has also signed a long-term licensing agreement with the clinic of the brand's owner, Dr Hiroshi Takami, with the acquisition set to be completed in the next few weeks.

Japanese skin care brand Takami is L 'Oreal's second acquisition this year, following US Natural skin care brand Thayers Natural Remedies. The acquisition of the low-key but highly popular brand in Japan, China and other Asian countries is also seen as a sign that L 'Oreal is increasing its presence in the Asian market.

A doctor is born

In 1995, Hiroshi Takami graduated from the Department of Medicine at Tzu Hui Medical University, one of Japan's "Royal Private Hospitals". Four years after graduation, he opened the Takami cosmetic skin clinic in Tokyo's famous commercial district of Omotesando. Takami mainly focuses on anti-aging and acne treatment, but also specializes in Botox injection, Hyaluronic acid injection, ultrasound knife, hot magi, skin care, skin improvement, water light needles, whitening needles, blemish removal and other beauty programs. In 2008, Hiroshi Takami set up a beauty branch centered on anti-aging treatment.

With years of clinical experience, Takami has gradually become a leader in the cosmetic industry in Japan. He holds many prestigious titles: Member of the Japanese Association of Dermatology, Certified Doctor of the Japanese Association of Clinical Anti-Aging, Head of Research and Development of Takami, Special Consultant and Supervising Doctor of Swiss pharmaceutical company Galderma, and so on.

Galderma Laboratories is a Swiss pharmaceutical company specializing in research and development and marketing of medical solutions for skin diseases. Galderma Laboratories was developed from Irving Dermatology Laboratories, founded in 1961 in Dallas, Texas, USA. Galderma Laboratories was established in 1981 as a joint venture between Nestle (Switzerland) and L 'Oreal (France). The company has three factories in the world, operating a number of beauty raw materials and brands, among which the most well-known Chinese consumers is Cetaphil (Sitaf).

Took office in October 2016, hiroshi Galderma company "hyaluronic acid injection mentoring doctor", held in overseas society and conference speech as the injection of hyaluronic acid, solid technical guidance and synchronization, also write the information for the doctor's manual, such as in beauty magazine "I - VOCE" column of the vision of the beauty salon in I - VOCE ". Also in this process, Hiroshi became a famous doctor of hyaluronic acid injection, in many Japanese plastic surgeons ranked on the list, and even a lot of Chinese consumers have long heard the name, special trip to Japan to see the doctor.

Custom for Asian women

In addition to the field of plastic surgery, Hiroshi also has extensive experience in skin management. In 1999, Takami started as a cosmetic skin clinic to solve acne and pore problems for Asian women. During the study, Hiroshi and his team collected skin samples from nearly 200,000 people to begin developing medical skincare products suitable for Asian women. That same year, the eponymous skin care brand Takami was born.

At the beginning, the cooperation channels of TAKAMI brand were limited to cinemas, focusing on postoperative repair and beauty. Due to the popularity of the product, the research team led by Hiroshi developed a skin care product suitable for ordinary consumers about six years after opening the hospital, which focuses on female facial skin repair. However, even when it began to promote to the public, Takami kept a low profile. It not only had a small number of products, but also had a lab-style packaging, and few advertising campaigns. In 2010, Takami's flagship store in Ginza, Japan, also featured simplicity.

Despite its low profile, Takami's word of mouth has been growing among consumers. According to published reports, the Takami clinic has long been a "secret base" for Japanese models, and the eponymous skin care product is one of their favorite products. In 2008, Hiroshi Beauty Clinic was named the best beauty clinic by Vogue magazine, and Takami's popularity abroad has opened up.

One of Takami's most famous offerings is SkinPeel Pre-Serum, known as' little blue bottles' among Asian consumers.

Small Blue Bottle is famous for gentle muscle floor metabolism without forced exfoliation. Its main components are amino acid derivatives PCA- NA, citric acid and various plant extracts to deeply soften the cutin, so as to maintain normal skin metabolism. The product has won the first place in the Rakuten Musculobottom Care Liquid category and the first place in the COSME Award 2019. It has been published by the magazine for more than 891 times with a 91% buyback rate (as of November 2016).

At present, Takami mainly distributes Omni-channel in Japan, China and other Asian countries and regions (especially in China, where it has high appeal), and e-commerce channels are mainly through subscription and selective distribution. Despite the impact of COVID-19, the brand also achieved sales of around 50 million euros (398 million yuan) in 2019 and continued to grow this year.