Cosmetics maker Kose Corp. said Wednesday it will sell its products in the Philippines beginning in October under an exclusive sales agency agreement with Rustan Commercial Corp., a leading retail group in that country.
Kose said it will offer luxury cosmetics under the Awake brand through Rustants, the Philippines' most prestigious department store, and mass-consumption products under the Fasio brand through supermarkets and drug stores.
The Philippines is the sixth market for Kose in Southeast Asia after Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Ranked fourth in Japan's cosmetics industry, Kose hopes to chalk up 500 million yen in sales in the Philippines through 100 stores by the third year of sales.
The Philippine market for cosmetics was worth an estimated 177 billion yen in 2002, according to the Tokyo-based company.