Did you know Skincare brand Fancl will be closing its stores in Singapore and Taiwan from March 2014.

Why? Because the company has been losing money in both countries. New marketing plan would be to re-enter the Singapore market as a wholesaler after April 2014. It will also be expanding into the US market with some of its brands.

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.