Keiji Fujii, President and CEO of Rosette Co., Ltd.

Protecting your skin and your life

President and CEO of Rosette Co., Ltd.　Keiji Fujii (Fujii Keiji)

■ Profile
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture. Joined Kiss Me Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (now Isehan) in 1977. After working in sales, he was transferred to sales planning in 1993. He became a director of the company in 2000, and was appointed president and representative director in 2006. In 2011, he was appointed president and representative director of Rosette Co., Ltd. He currently serves as chairman and representative director of Natural Garden Co., Ltd. and president and representative director of pdc Co., Ltd.

Rosette Co., Ltd. provides facial cleansers and other cosmetics to address customers' skin concerns. There's a secret behind why Rosette Co., Ltd.'s flagship product, "Rosette Facial Cleansing Paste," has been loved by so many people for so many years... To find out, we spoke with Keiji Fujii, the company's president and CEO.

■Club activities where I made lifelong friends

During my student days, I focused on building relationships through club activities. I would study English listening during my lunch break and go on trips with friends on my days off. My English listening skills have been useful when I do business overseas, and more importantly, I still keep in touch with my friends from my student days. I am very grateful that I can interact with them without any business interests.
My senior from the club worked part-time at a company that subcontracted for a department store, and my club buddies and I would work together in groups to dispose of cardboard boxes that were generated in the warehouse during busy periods.

■I heard that the beauty and health industry will never go out of style, so I decided to enter the cosmetics industry.

While I was job hunting, the president of a subcontracting company for the department store where I worked part-time said to me, "As long as there is no war, the beauty and health industry will never go out of business." With that in mind, I began to narrow my search for a company in the cosmetics industry, seeking stability.

■An employee's wedding that led to a connection with Rosette

I first joined a cosmetics company as a salesperson, and later in my career I became involved not only in sales and planning, but also in management. My encounter with Rosette began when, after I joined Isehan and was working as a managing director, a salesperson from Rosette got married to a sales representative from Isehan. I was scheduled to give a speech at the wedding, where I met the then-president of Rosette, and that's how we became acquainted. I later retired from Isehan at the age of 55, just as the then-president of Rosette was looking for a successor. Through the connection we made at the wedding, I was asked to take on the role, and at the age of 56, I became president of Rosette. I was chosen largely because of my knowledge of retail cosmetics sales and my knowledge of everything from sales to operations, but I think an even bigger factor was the fact that we were fortunate enough to have such a connection.

■We will manage our business based on "morality."

I run my company based on morality.
When I became the CEO, I felt that I needed a basis for making decisions in running the company. So I read a book by Kazuo Inamori and decided to base my decisions on "morality," which is what I feel I should not do.

■Pursuing ingredients and concepts unique to Rosette

I think Rosette's unique strengths are its "concept" and "unique ingredients."
Our concept is to create products that address skin concerns, which are changing dramatically with the times. I believe that skin concerns are becoming more specific than traditional concerns like acne and dark spots. Our marketing department identifies these diverse concerns and formulates them into concepts, which then kicks off research and development of products and ingredients. We have a laboratory where research and formulation development is carried out, where researchers develop cosmetic formulations based on our concepts and conduct "basic research" on the effects of natural ceramides and the mechanisms of sunburn. We are also focusing on product development using unique ingredients, such as sulfur, which are not commonly used by other cosmetic manufacturers. Rather than simply creating products that sell, we aim to continue to conduct basic research and create products based on evidence, such as research results.

■Taking the risk even before the product is released, and applying techniques from the cosmetics industry.

The COVID-2 pandemic hit the cosmetics industry as a whole, dropping sales by 75% over two years. However, Rosette's sales have remained strong. While spending more time at home, giving people more time to care for their skin, and increasing skin irritation due to masks, are likely contributing factors, I believe the main factor is our aggressive marketing efforts, utilizing social media and other platforms. We have a mindset of "taking the risk even before the product is released," and we strive to generate buzz. We employed image characters that matched the brand image and implemented large-scale promotions, including TV commercials and transit advertising. Since becoming president of Rosette, I have also initiated marketing initiatives such as launching promotions and selling limited-edition products. Promotions and limited-edition products are commonplace in the cosmetics industry, but Rosette's previous approach was different. So, I began implementing these strategies to raise awareness of our products.

■The people we want to work with are not "yes-men" but people who have a strong sense of self.

I think it's best to have someone who has their own principles and opinions and isn't a yes-man. For example, when deciding on the design and concept of a product aimed at young people, I think the opinions of young people are more appropriate. If there's a meeting to decide on the design, I want them to actively express their opinions, and if the president gives an opinion that's off the mark, I want them to clearly say that it's wrong. I also want to work with honest and hard-working people. I'm in charge of the final interviews for new graduates, and let's say someone says they like cosmetics. At that time, I'll ask them about products other than Rosette that they like and dislike to see if they really like them and to gauge their way of thinking about things.
We also ask questions that delve deeper into the research they are doing at university, to see how immersed they can be in things and how hard they can work.

■We want you to have the awareness and curiosity to ask "why?" from the customer's perspective.

In any company, it is important to think about things from the customer's perspective. However, the longer you stay in a company, the more your perspective as a company employee becomes. Therefore, while you are still a student, I would like you to be conscious of thinking from the customer's perspective, asking yourself questions like, "Why is this packaging used?" or "Why did you buy this product?"
Also, relationships will become important in the future, so I hope you will meet many different people and make friends while you are a student.

Student Newspaper Online Interview May 15, 2023 by Ryusei Nishiyama, 4th year student at Musashino University