Milbon Co., Ltd.

Business Details

The Group operates as a single business engaged in the manufacturing and sale of cosmetics. Its core categories are Hair Care Products (63.2% of sales) and Hair Coloring Products (32.3% of sales), with beauty salons and hair designers as its primary customers. The company's strengths lie in its proprietary Field Person System, an education-based sales approach, and its TAC product development system, which is rooted in on-site insights from salons. Domestically, it operates professional brands such as "Elujuda" and "Ojua." Overseas, it advances its business through consolidated subsidiaries across 7 regions, including the United States, the EU, and South Korea.

Recent Overview

Q1 FY2026 achieved substantial growth in both revenue and profit, with net sales up 11.0% and operating profit up 75.4%

Consolidated net sales for Q1 FY2026 (January to March) were ¥12,415 million (up 11.0% year on year). Both core categories grew, with Hair Care Products up 13.1% and Hair Coloring Products up 8.2%. Overseas sales expanded sharply to ¥3,952 million (up 31.1% year on year), raising the overseas sales ratio from 27.0% to 31.8%. In addition to continued high growth in the United States and the EU, South Korea, which had been affected by political turmoil in the prior-year period, also achieved strong sales growth. The disappearance of foreign exchange losses (¥113 million in the prior-year period), which turned into a foreign exchange gain of ¥6 million, also contributed to the substantial improvement in ordinary profit (up 113.7%). The full-year earnings forecast remains unchanged from the previous announcement (released February 13, 2026).

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Rapid expansion of overseas sales: Continued high growth in the United States and the EU, together with recovery from political turmoil in South Korea, drove Q1 overseas sales up 31.1% year on year to ¥3,952 million, raising the overseas sales ratio to 31.8%
• Multifaceted growth in Hair Care Products: In addition to solid overseas performance of the premium brand "Milbon," the new domestic brand "Sowa" and the new styling product "Nizel" performed well, reflecting the results of planned sales and educational activities
• High-value-added color strategy: The ICEA-certified "Villa Lodola Color" continued to maintain high growth, while fashion color products such as "Ordive Addicthy" also saw a narrowing of the domestic sales decline
• Improved foreign exchange environment: The benefit of a weaker yen boosted gross profit on overseas sales, and the disappearance of the prior-year foreign exchange loss of ¥113 million contributed to the substantial improvement in ordinary profit
• Results of the priority area strategy: The results of proactive initiatives are steadily materializing after re-examining the 7-region strategy under the Medium-Term Business Plan (2022-2026) and designating the United States, the EU, and South Korea as priority areas with high market potential and growth
• Expansion of retail product sales through the milbon:iD membership base: The digital membership platform is structurally supporting growth in retail sales of domestic Hair Care Products

Risks

• Intensifying competition in the hair coloring market: Competition, particularly in professional-use products, is intensifying, with an ongoing risk of some salons switching to lower-priced brands
• Changes in cost structure: Selling, general and administrative expenses increased (Q1: ¥6,622 million, up 4.4% year on year) due to higher personnel costs from staff increases and base pay raises, as well as increased logistics costs associated with higher overseas shipments
• Domestic consumer thrift orientation: The risk that rising consumer thrift, driven by continued price increases, could weigh on domestic sales growth
• Geopolitical risk and overseas market uncertainty: The impact of tensions in the Middle East, US tariff policy, and exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations on the Japanese economy and overseas operations
• Risk of downward revision to Medium-Term Business Plan targets: FY2026 (ending March 2026) is the final year of the Medium-Term Business Plan (2022-2026), and the full-year operating profit forecast of ¥6,300 million has been significantly reduced from the original target of ¥8,400 million
• Low growth in the Cosmetics category: Remaining small at 1.3% of sales, its contribution to growth from a business diversification standpoint is limited