Cosmetics company Shiseido is to set up a research facility in Shanghai’s Fengxian District to drive technology innovation as local government strives to connect beauty companies and relevant players to boost economic development. The Shiseido site in Fengxian Oriental Beauty Valley, an industrial and technology park, will focus on environmental and sustainability-related research and share resources with partners in the park. Zhuang Mudi, Party secretary of Fengxian District, said it is looking forward to fruitful results through collaboration with Shiseido China and to further unlock the potential of the domestic beauty market. Shiseido is the first multinational company to locate operations in the park, and the new site will complement two existing research and development facilities in China. "Fengxian District has become a core area to promote the beauty and health industry in the city and we're striving to offer a better service for businesses and build a favorable environment," Shanghai Vice Mayor Xu Kunlin said at the contract-signing ceremony. The district has attracted institutions and stakeholders so that upstream and downstream players can better connect and interact. "We hope to fully leverage institutions and talents located at Fengxian Oriental Beauty Valley and to tackle environment challenges by working on innovation solutions such as new package materials through local collaboration and communications," said Fujiwara Kentaro, Shiseido China’s president. In January, it set up a Beauty Innovation Hub in Shanghai to serve as an open innovation platform to drive consumer-centric solutions. "China's economic momentum remains upbeat despite the recent novel coronavirus epidemic and we have confidence in the market potential here," he added. Shiseido located its China regional headquarters in Shanghai in 2017 and has reported strong business growth as Chinese consumers embrace the Japanese company's beauty and personal care products. China is already Shiseido's biggest overseas market and driving more research for the local market might help it confront competition from strong home-grown brands which are more agile at catering to local shoppers' tastes. Net sales in China last year added 13 percent to 217 billion yen (US$2.03 billion) with a strong performance in prestige personal care and cosmetics brands after rolling out digital marketing campaigns and stronger collaboration with major Chinese online platforms.