Japanese company istyle cosmetics is partnering with Siam Piwat to open @Cosme stores in Bangkok.
The joint venture in which istyle holds 70 per cent is called istyle Retail Thailand and will operate five @Cosme stores in the country.
The first Thai @Cosme store is set to open at the new development IconSiam by the end of this year, and the second will open at Siam Center.
“We have studied the Thai market and found that Bangkok’s GDP is high and consumers in Bangkok, compared with consumers in other countries in this region, are the top spenders on beauty and cosmetic goods,” said Kei Sugawara, director, CFO and senior VP of global at Istyle Inc.
“The @Cosme retailing concept that merges online consumer engagement with offline sales is extremely innovative and will be exciting for Thai consumers. Next to that, this joint venture will facilitate the arrival in Thailand of many new, high quality Japanese beauty brands that have not been available to consumers in Thailand,” said Usara Yongpiyakul, CEO of Siam Piwat Retail.
The joint venture expects the total sales earned by @Cosme stores to reach Bt300 million (US$9 million) in the first three years.
Currently, @Cosme has stores in Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan.
Thailand is among several new markets istyle is planning to expand in during the next three years with a goal of 50 to 60 new stores planned.