Kosé Corporation

Kosé traces its origins to a 1946 partnership founded by Kozaburo Kobayashi [4]. In 1948 the business was incorporated as Kobayashi Kosé Company Limited, formalising the original partnership [2]. In 1956 the group established Albion Co., Ltd., a separate manufacturer positioned in luxury cosmetics [2].

The company was listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2000, taking the stock code 4922 [2]. It had earlier maintained a technological-cooperation joint venture with the French group L'Oréal; that arrangement ended in 2001 [4]. Kosé says L'Oréal never held ownership of the company — the relationship was limited to technology cooperation.

Kosé's portfolio spans in-house prestige lines and acquired or licensed brands. According to the company, its key global brands include Decorté, Sekkisei and Addiction Tokyo, which anchor its flagship retail concept, Maison Kosé [6]. Its prestige range also features Albion and the makeup-focused line Esprique [3].

Beyond its Japanese lines, the group owns the US colour-cosmetics brand Tarte and operates the Jill Stuart cosmetics brand. Together these form a mix of domestic heritage names and international acquisitions under the Kosé umbrella.

Kosé has expanded through a combination of brand creation, licensing and acquisition. In 2005 it introduced the Jill Stuart cosmetics brand in Japan as a licensed business, later acquiring the global trademark rights in 2009 [2].

In 2014 the group acquired the stock of the US company Tarte, Inc., making it an affiliate and giving Kosé a foothold in the North American colour-cosmetics market [2]. The 2026 shift to a holding-company structure, under the name Kosé Holdings Corporation, reorganised the group's oversight of its prestige and mass beauty brands in Japan and internationally [2].

Kosé is a publicly traded company. It was listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2000 and trades under the code 4922 [2][4]. Following the January 2026 reorganisation, the listed parent is Kosé Holdings Corporation, which retained the same ticker.