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The story
Shiseido announced on the 14th that it will disband its track and field team, the “Shiseido Running Club,” at the end of March 2027. Founded in 1979, the storied team is closing the book on a 47-year run after winning the All Japan Industrial Women’s Ekiden (Queens Ekiden) twice and producing athletes who competed at the Olympics and World Athletics Championships. The announcement comes against the backdrop of Shiseido’s weak performance, with both operating income and net income falling into the red for the fiscal year ended December 2025. On 5ch’s Geisoku (entertainment/sports) board, users debated the reasons behind the company’s decision to cut its track team, pointing to the slowdown in the Chinese market, the rise of Korean cosmetics, and past management decisions.
Nikkan Sports [October 14, 2026, 2:15 PM]
Shiseido announced on the 14th that it has decided to suspend the activities of its corporate track and field team, the Shiseido Running Club, and disband it as of March 31, 2027.
The team was founded in 1979, the year of the first Tokyo International Women’s Marathon. Over its 47-year history, under the slogan “Strong, Fast, Beautiful,” it won the All Japan Industrial Women’s Ekiden Relay Championship (Queens Ekiden) twice and produced athletes who went on to represent Japan at the Olympics and World Championships.
Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here
What people said
The ex-consultant wrecked everything
This is what happens when you get in too deep with China — when the CEO's incompetent, the company goes under
Korean cosmetics are really selling that well? Must be all that K-pop running on Japanese TV. Japan's being an idiot.
Probably spent too much money on Shohei Ohtani — meanwhile Asics, who cut ties with Ohtani, is doing great
Hiroyama actually placed in the top 8 three times: 8th in the 5000m at the 1997 Worlds, 4th in the 10000m at the 1999 Worlds, and 8th in the marathon at the 2005 Worlds.
Also, before she moved to Shiseido — back in her Wacoal days — Mao Ichiyama (wife of former Japan record holder Kengo Suzuki) finished 8th in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics.
The crazy sales were all in China, but now that market's dried up — same goes for Kosé and the others
It's baffling that they're picking such polarizing ambassadors from the K-pop world, like Lisa and Iroha
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/b6d391b3792db8b04dd346fac69f113672635590
lol
For people outside the cosmetics world, Shiseido basically means TSUBAKI, but TSUBAKI isn't even a Shiseido brand anymore…
Quality aside, a lot of it's cheap enough that even high school girls can afford it with their allowance, and they market it skillfully on social media — the younger crowd's been completely won over
Latest results (full fiscal year ended December 2025):
• Revenue: ¥969.9 billion (down 2.1% year-on-year)
• Operating profit: -¥28.7 billion (vs. a ¥7.5 billion profit the year before)
• Net income: -¥40.6 billion (vs. a ¥10.8 billion loss the year before)
Seriously bad. The losses just keep getting bigger.
But there are athletes who just joined fresh out of school this year though
Background and Key Points
As one of Japan’s leading domestic cosmetics makers, Shiseido has long invested in corporate sports, but in recent years it has struggled amid a sharp slowdown in the Chinese market and the rise of Korean cosmetics brands. It’s worth noting that the figures cited in the thread showing the company sliding into the red for the fiscal year ended December 2025 (with both operating and net income negative) were posted by a single commenter and are not an official announcement. The thread also debated the merits of Shiseido’s past decision to sell off former mainstay brands like TSUBAKI and uno and pivot to a premium strategy, with opinions divided. The suspension of corporate athletic teams has become increasingly common in recent years at companies facing tough profit environments, not just Shiseido, and this decision, too, lines up with the official reasoning of “improving growth and profitability.” Opinions in the thread were split over what it takes to sustain a corporate sports team and where management responsibility lies, so it’s worth being cautious about reducing the story to any single cause.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisoku/Sports News+) thread “[Track and Field] Shiseido Announces Suspension and Disbanding of Its Corporate Team, Citing ‘Careful Deliberation on Growth and Profitability’ — Storied Team Founded in ’79.”
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