Japanese skincare brand Fancl to close S'pore stores

SINGAPORE - Japanese skincare brand Fancl will close its 13 stores in Singapore by the end of March under a restructing plan.

Its announcement to customers in Singapore appeared as a notice on its website. It told customers who are members of their loyalty programme to redeem their points by end of this month.

Customers on their mailing list had also been informed of the closure in January.

In November 2013, Fancl Corp had announced that it would withdraw from the retail business in Taiwan and Singapore. The company was expecting an extraordinary loss of JPY 891 million (S$11.23 million) for the second quarter of fiscal year ending March 2014, according to a news report last year.

The skincare brand had stated in a media statement in November last year that it would continue its business in Singapore as a wholesaler after April 2014.

Here is the statement posted on Fancl Singapore's official website:

Dear Valued Customers,

Thank you for your support rendered towards FANCL.

Due to the company restructuring of FANCL in Singapore, all of our stores will cease operation by the end of March 2014. You may look out for the closure schedule at our stores or website.

The last day of our Freshness Programme $-point redemption will be on 28^th Feb 2014 and we recommend that you redeem your remaining points as soon as possible.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our utmost gratitude for your loyal support all these years and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.

- chenj@sph.com.sg