The Japanese beauty industry has yet again been thrown into turmoil, with many young, trendy women abandoning the tanned beach-girl image in favor of the porcelain look.
This shift in the beauty standard thus means shifting fortunes for fashion companies battling to offload summer apparel, cosmetics and accessories.
Winners and losers in these sectors can be easily identified via a cursory glance at July sales figures for fashion products at major department stores and supermarkets.
One notable loser is swimwear.
While the vagaries of the weather may have something to do with dwindling swimwear sales, fashion experts believe the pivotal factor is the changing attitude toward skin beauty among young, fashion-conscious Japanese women.
"Today, a major shift in the female psychology is to protect their skin from the sun," remarked one apparel executive.
In sharp contrast to the swimwear scenario, cosmetics that help whiten women's skin are selling at a brisk pace.
Executives at major department stores say they are surprised by the upturn in the fortunes of so-called whitening cosmetic products.
"Antifreckle products sell well, and so do facial whitening lotions, including those that sell in the 12,000 yen range," observed one department store executive.
Both Seibu Department Stores Ltd. and Takashimaya Co. have reported robust growth in sales of skin-whitening cosmetic products. These sales have increased 5 percent to 10 percent from last year.
Likewise, sales of sunshade accessories are up. Takashimaya officials said their sales of parasols have risen 30 percent.
As a summer sales gimmick, Printemps Ginza released a three-item set of sunglasses, hat and parasol aimed at protecting a person's skin from the sun, with sales zooming up 12 percent from last year.
