istyle Group's First Step into Hong Kong The select cosmetics shop "@cosme store Star House" opens on June 8th!

istyle Co., Ltd (HQ located in Minato-ku, Tokyo; representative director and CEO: Tetsuro Yoshimatsu; Securities Code 3660. Hereafter "istyle") - via its consolidated subsidiary istyle Retail (Hong Kong) Co., Limited (HQ located in the People's Republic of China, Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong [hereafter, "Hong Kong"], representative director and president: Hajime Endo. Hereafter "istyle Retail (Hong Kong)") - will open its first select cosmetics "@cosme store" location in Hong Kong on June 8th with the name "@cosme store Star House," following a theme of "Testable, Meetable, Fateful Cosmetics." Breaking ground with this first grand opening, we hope to successively establish a number of locations in Hong Kong moving forward.

1. Background of Hong Kong Expansion

As of 2017, Hong Kong yields the 4th highest number of visitors to Japan after mainland China, South Korea, and Taiwan. According to materials released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, there is a strong local interest in Japan. The HKTB also indicates that as of 2017, a staggering 75% of its incoming tourists are from the Chinese mainland - where Japanese cosmetics enjoy great popularity via international e-commerce.

Furthermore, the area in which @cosme store Star House is located - Tsim Sha Tsui - is an extremely popular shopping location for visitors from the mainland.

This is on top of the fact that @cosme currently has wide brand recognition in East Asia as a store that understands what Japanese cosmetics are popular. Considering these conditions, the establishment of an @cosme store location in Tsim Sha Tsui will enable guests not only from Hong Kong but also from the mainland to enjoy the opportunity to encounter firsthand cosmetics that uniquely suit them - further elevating recognition of our brand.

2. Shop Description

The @cosme store is a select cosmetics shop designed around the concept of "Tryable, Meetable, Fateful Cosmetics." The shop introduces KPI web service thinking by analyzing the @cosme word-of-mouth database and user behavior histories to conduct MD into customer needs, IT-ify sales floor construction and operation, and track the frequency and number of visits to the store.

The first shop that we opened in 2007 - @cosme store Lumine Est Shinjuku - achieved the largest sales of any domestic cosmetics specialty store. With the support of our customers, we have been able to open another 24 stores domestically as well as 4 locations worldwide. So too will we apply our hard-won management knowhow and special style in the development of our first Hong Kong location.

Given that Star House will be located in the highly active shopping center of Tsim Sha Tsui, we expect to see high patronage.

SHOP FEATURES

1. A wide selection of cosmetics with everything from indie brands to department brands

Just as in Japan, we will have a line-up of products that transcends established distribution lines. SOFINA Primavista Ange, Chacott, DAZZSHOP, Flowfushi, Cher Couleur and others will enjoy their Hong Kong debut through us.

2. Information for "Meeting" Products

One of @cosme store's specialties - we don't just break down products by brands, but use our information analysis to create a variety of ways to "meet" products in our stores.
(for example, shelf categorization that follows themes such as "skin whitening," "anti-aging," "men's cosmetics," etc.)

3. Counseling for Skin and Makeup Concerns

We will have a large counseling corner and skin consultation space, with staff that have undergone the same training provided in Japan to present counseling catered to individual client needs and making product suggestions without succumbing to brand bias.

4. An Event Space that Inspires the Sharing of Experiences

In our roughly 83 square meter event space, we will offer a variety of "experiences" - such as touch-up events. We wish to create a space that our customers want to come back to again and again.

5. A Salon Space that Facilitates "Meetings" with Diverse Brands

We will have two salon spaces inside the store. By having spaces where different brands are used, we wish to introduce yet another way to "meet" products.

6. An Environment that Permits Sampling Almost Every Product

We have testers prepared for almost every product in the store. There will be washing stations and other amenities just as in our Japan locations to foster an environment in which customers feel truly free to try out products.

◆@cosme store Star House Information

Opening Day：June 8th, 2018 (Friday)
Location：Star House #105, 3 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Store Name：@cosme store Star House
Hours：10:00AM to 10:00PM
Holidays：Open 365 days a year
Sales Area：362.98 m² (not including event/salon space)
Brands Offered：@cosme nippon, Chacott,DAZZSHOP, Flowfushi, Cher Couleur,SOFINA Primaviste Ange, and more

3. Global Expansion of istyle and Future Developments

Currently, istyle's global operations constitute a pillar of its business strategy, with a goal of penetration and establishment of the @cosme brand built on the construction of a global cosmetics database via overseas expansion. In the future, we would like to realize a system in which users the world over can use @cosme with their User ID in any language, with localized stores in every country as well as international e-commerce beauty services.

We have already made progress towards this goal with our operations in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the US. Our global sales total is about 5.45 billion yen (2018 June Q3 total), constituting roughly 26% of our total sales.

Currently we are already managing 4 retail locations in Taiwan, and are already moving forward with plans for a number of additional locations in Hong Kong. Furthermore, we expect to open our first @cosme store location in Thailand in October of this year.

[istyle Co., Ltd., Company Overview]
http://www.istyle.co.jp/ | TYO First Section, Securities Code 3660
Location: Ark MORI Building Floor 34, 1-12-32 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-6034 Japan 107-6034
Established : July 27, 1999
Capital Stock : 3.482 billion yen
Representative : Representative Director and CEO, Tetsuro Yoshimatsu
Industry Activity : Planning, Management, and Marketing for the Beauty Aggregator Portal Site @cosme

[istyle Retail (Hong Kong) Co., Limited Company Overview]
Location : Level 11, Admiralty Centre Tower 2, 18 Harcourt Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Established : October 20, 2016
Representative : Representative Director, Hajime Endo

[INQUIRIES]
istyle Co., Ltd. Corporate Communications Office
TEL : 03-5575-1286
FAX : 03-5575-1261
Email : istyle-press@istyle.co.jp