Nearly 60% of Beauty Clinic Management Feel Risk of Closure, Survey Reveals Harsh Market Reality

ETANA Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Tetsuya Nakagawa), a company providing consulting services for beauty clinics, conducted a "Survey on the Management Reality of Beauty Clinics Amidst the Collapse of the Cosmetic Medicine Bubble" targeting management-level individuals (men and women in their 20s to 60s) at beauty clinics. The survey sheds light on their perception of the competitive market environment, current management issues, and strategies for sustainable future operations.

## Background
The cosmetic medicine market has grown rapidly, fueled by the spread of social media and rising beauty consciousness. However, challenges that can be seen as a backlash to this rapid growth have become apparent, including intensified competition from a proliferation of clinics, price wars, and soaring advertising costs. Contrary to the image of a glamorous growth market, many clinics face deteriorating revenue structures and the risk of closure. To clarify how managers perceive the current competitive environment and the limits of price competition, ETANA conducted this survey.

## Survey Summary
- About 60% of beauty clinic managers perceive the competitive environment in the last 2-3 years as "intensifying."
- Nearly 60% believe price competition has "already reached its limit" or is "approaching its limit."
- The biggest current management challenges are "soaring prices for medical equipment and drugs," followed by "rising labor and recruitment costs."
- Nearly 60% feel there is a possibility of their own clinic closing or withdrawing in the future.
- Top priority strategies for sustainable management are "improving revenue structure," "improving operational efficiency/cost reduction," and "revising customer acquisition/marketing."

## Detailed Survey Results

**Changes in Competitive Environment**: In response to the question "How do you perceive the change in the competitive environment of the cosmetic medicine market in the last 2-3 years?", 58.1% recognized increased competition, combining "somewhat intensifying" (34.1%) and "very intensifying" (24.0%).

**Perception of Price Competition**: When asked "How do you perceive the recent price competition in the cosmetic medicine industry?", the sum of "approaching its limit" (35.7%) and "already reached its limit" (20.9%) was 56.6%, indicating that nearly 60% of managers are concerned about the sustainability of price competition.

**Current Management Challenges**: In the question "What is the biggest challenge in your clinic's current management?", "soaring prices for medical equipment and drugs" was the top answer (32.6%), followed by "rising labor and recruitment costs" (20.9%), and "increased difficulty in acquiring new patients" (16.3%).

**Concerns about Business Continuity**: For the question "How do you feel about the future business continuity or the possibility of closure/withdrawal?", 57.4% are considering the possibility of closure, combining "feel the possibility of closure/withdrawal in the medium to long term" (41.9%) and "feel the possibility of closure/withdrawal within 3 years" (15.5%).

**Future Management Strategies**: When asked "What management strategy do you think your clinic should prioritize for future sustainable management?", "improving revenue structure" and "improving operational efficiency/cost reduction" tied for first place (34.9% each), closely followed by "revising customer acquisition/marketing" (34.1%) in third, showing a strong will for management improvement.

## Conclusion
This survey has highlighted the reality that the cosmetic medicine market is facing serious challenges behind its growth. Many managers are struggling with intensified competition and rising costs, and feel the risk of closure. ETANA stated that it will provide solutions through its consulting for beauty clinics to address the issues revealed in this survey.