Observations from Singapore, page-9

hi OBBear, thanks for sharing your observations.  There is certainly some mystery surrounding the launch pattern for the kit.  At the same time Singapore is getting the soft sell, in China, the kit is being pushed as 1 of the 4 cornerstones of SK-II's product lineup (4 aces).  Then again, there is apparently Zero availability in Japan (SK-IIs largest market) 6.5 months after launch in Korea.  Add to that the recent report of the kit being drip fed weekly to Hong Kong airport duty free and continuously being sold out within one day - and yet no increase in supply to meet this demand.

These observations can be interpreted in a variety of ways, both good and bad.  The optimistic view is that they can't make the kit fast enough to meet the demands in markets such as Korea and China, so they don't launch in Japan or push the product in South East Asia.  Some reports from counters in China and other countries would be very helpful in verifying that scenario.

Another scenario is that what we are seeing was the plan all along, and while we don't understand it, we just have to trust that everything is running as planned.  Supporting this idea is the fact that we knew back in November that the kit would be released on a limited basis in Japan in mid January.  That release happened and is now over.   What happens next is anyones guess.

I just have to go back to what Glyn has said repeatedly over the few weeks in communications to several of us here:

yes everything that has been announced is going as planned

"market feedback has been very good"

"early days thus far but very strong ones thus far"

"SKII have in fact laid out what their immediate plans are for the next three years"

"all parties remain very positive on the future"

"We are full steam ahead"