China's beauty sector has been growing at an explosive pace in recent years driven mostly by younger Chinese consumers, according to Masahiko Uotani, the president and CEO of Shiseido, one of the biggest beauty conglomerates in the world. 

Uotani spoke of the group’s ambitions to win over young Chinese during an interview with CGTN.

The CEO said that China represents a huge chunk of the beauty industry’s future, with untapped potential in smaller Chinese cities.

"It's a huge market and the penetration of cosmetic products among those people is not that high, particularly in the fourth-tier cities, so it's still growing," said Uotani, adding that Chinese cosmetic market is going to be "the largest in the world soon."  

He noted that China's beauty market is unique compared to the rest of the world, as young people are driving the industry to the next stage.

"In Japan, senior people have been major customer force. But in China, the driving force of the industry is young people," said Uotani. He added that the Shiseido is revamping the 150-year-old brand's image in China and trying to attract more Chinese youth. 

When asked about Shiseido's brand strategy, Uotani said that a combination of brand portfolios is the key.

"We have some makeup brands acquired in the U.S. … and then we also have brands locally developed in China for the Chinese people like Aupres. So, we have a combination of brand portfolios from Japan, from the U.S. and from the local China market," Uotani noted.

Besides, he put forward the “think global, act local” concept, saying that consumers are different in terms of their lifestyles, culture, and religions. Based on that belief, Shiseido plans to build innovation hubs in Japan, China, and the U.S.

"Particularly in China," Uotani added. "As I said, we want to get connected with local startups – technology, IT, wellness, healthcare, life sciences. That's why we have a Superpower China innovation team in Shanghai."

Shiseido announced earlier this year a plan to build an innovation hub in Shanghai, hoping it will help to expand the  market in China. The facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. 

Besides the Chinese strategy, Uotani also mentioned Shiseido’s core values, which are history of the brand, technology, quality and brand culture. 

"Even in America and (other) countries, there are people who really embrace those core values of the company coming out of Japan and Asia," Uotani said.

The CEO believes that Shiseido will never lose its market with those core values.