Saishunkan Pharmaceutical Co. has launched a basic anti-aging skin care product in Thailand in its first foray into Southeast Asia, aiming to build long-term customer relationships through direct sales for overseas business expansion.
The company last week began taking orders for Domohorn Wrinkle via the internet and telephone, at a call center staffed by 13 Thai-speaking employees, shipping the product from its headquarters in Kumamoto Prefecture.
The decades-old product, claimed to be effective against skin conditions such as wrinkles and age spots, comes in a set of eight items including a makeup remover, a softening foam mask and a milky skin lotion, with prices ranging from 1,800 baht to 4,500 baht ($56 to $140) according to the company.
Saishunkan Pharmaceutical (Thailand) Co., a wholly owned sales subsidiary established last November, also runs Domohorn Wrinkle Experience Space in the Emporio Place, a luxury condominium complex in central Bangkok, to offer trial use and counseling.
The basic skin care product has been sold through direct telemarketing in Japan since 1974, and 93 percent of purchasers become repeat customers, the company said.
It was put on sale in Hong Kong in 2011 and Taiwan in 2012, bringing the total number of users at home and abroad to 330,000.
Masaaki Nishikawa, president of the Japanese firm, said it would be a significant step to build long-term relationships with Thai consumers as the company has done at home.
The local unit is planning to spend a ¥300 million ($2.73 million) marketing budget to promote the cosmetic product via television commercials, online advertisements and social networking services, providing 85,000 people with a three-day free trial kit in a bid to gain 5,000 customers in the first year.