Tourists have been the driving force behind the stellar sales figures reported by J-beauty and K-beauty manufacturers over the past few years. However, while K-beauty’s tills have stopped ringing as the number of visitors dwindles, the J-beauty camp is actively preventing foreign shoppers from supermarket sweep-style spending sprees, according to a report published by The Asahi Shimbun.
Indeed, several Japanese manufacturers have noticed visitors purchasing in bulk and then reselling in their home country – a practice that has become widespread in the last three years. In response, number of brands are imposing restrictions on the number of items that can be purchased in a single transaction of set timeframe.
Fancl’s stores have carried signs in both Japanese and Chinese limiting customers to 10 units of its Mild Cleansing Oil per week, while Kose-owned Albion allows shoppers to purchase just one unit of its skin milk per day and Shiseido fans are restricted to one bottle of serum in a 24-hour window.