Yoshiharu Fukuhara
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
As of November 1984 he was Senior Managing Director, and the officer list records him as a 1953 graduate of the Faculty of Economics at Keio University. He joined as a member of the founding family and worked overseas, heading the U.S. subsidiary and serving as Director and head of the Foreign Department, before becoming Executive Vice President. Even so, despite being from the founding family, he had little capital behind him. As of November 1984 the top shareholders were Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Asahi Mutual Life Insurance, Nippon Fire and Marine Insurance and Sumitomo Life Insurance, and no individual Fukuhara family member was in the top ten.
Selection
The chain store policy that his predecessor Yoshio Ono had promoted himself had, by 1983, overprotected retailers. A structure with about 20,000 employees and about 25,000 chain stores nationwide was heavy, and in July 1987 two presidents in a row had died suddenly. Akira Gemma later concluded that the proliferation of product lines had only led to higher inventories. The appointment appears to have entrusted the turnaround to a founding-family member with long overseas experience.
Initiatives
The company acquired France's Carita in February 1986 and America's Zotos in September 1988. In October 1990 it set up Beauté Prestige International in France, and the following October, in 1991, completed its Gien plant. In December 1991 it set up Shiseido Liyuan Cosmetics Co., Ltd. as a joint venture with Beijing Liyuan Company. In Japan, it merged 15 sales companies into Shiseido Cosmetics Sales in April 1995 and, at the end of September, accepted a cease-and-desist recommendation issued by the Japan Fair Trade Commission that June. In March 1989 it changed its fiscal year-end from November 30 to March 31.
Career
Career
Shiseido
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Senior Managing Director |
| 1986 | President |
| 1996 | Stepped down as President |