What actually went wrong? Sources said they have been struggling
with the Singapore consumer. Simon Bell, executive director strategy, Southeast
Asia & Pacific at Landor said that marketing alone will never guarantee the
success of a brand – instead a single compelling idea that resonates with the
consumer is required.
He said that the brand did not differentiate itself. “Whilst
the Chinese consumer seeks brand attributes of esteem and knowledge in the
skincare category, Singaporeans search for brands that are relevant yet
differentiated from the competitor set, and that’s what Fancl overlooked.
However, the shift from retail to digital for its businesses
may be just what Fancl needed. Re-entering the brand as a wholesaler will help the brand
cut the costs associated with having physical retail stores, the constant issue
of staff turnover and the need to provide good service while keeping costs low.
The battle ahead is about personal preferences, about being there, all around
the clock and about building lively communities online.
As part of its future strategy, the brand will target the
middle aged to elderly customers and raise its brand loyalty by further
expanding its Mutenka (additive free) cosmetics market. It also plans to build
on its mail order sales channels and online. The new target market might be ‘traditionally’
known to be more loyal as compared to the younger consumer, but will this group
be accustom with buying online? That's the big question.
Well good Luck to
Fancl, will miss seeing their very nice retail shops around, but I’m sure
someone very soon will fill up these physical retail spaces.
