Sephora has opened its first store in Korea, where innovative beauty products and trends reign, the company said Wednesday.
Sephora has opened its first store in Korea, where innovative beauty products and trends reign, the company said Wednesday.
At the grand opening event held at Parnas Mall in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Sephora Korea said it will strive to achieve double-digit growth in sales revenue over the next seven years, taking advantage of the growing interest in beauty specialist retailers.
The company also plans to open six other local stores and an official online store by 2020, as well as 13 additional stores by 2022.
The new flagship shop, which covers 547 square meters, features hundreds of cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance brands along with its own private label.
“What sets us apart from other beauty specialist retailers is that we offer a huge range of products unseen elsewhere, and with professional staff to help customers,” Sephora Korea CEO Kim Dong-ju said during the launch event at Parnas Mall.
“We also deliver the pure joy of discovering and trying new products. For instance, we have a 15-minute
Flash Makeover Complimentary service and Dyson hair experience zone at the store.”
Sephora’s arrival reflects customers’ desire to access various types of beauty products in the same place and the growing market size of beauty specialist retailers.
“Through extensive market research for the last two to three years, we found out that Korean customers tend to search by items instead of brands,” Kim said. “They are also savvy on loyalty programs, in terms of rewards.”
Sales of beauty and drug products in the country came to 5.6 trillion won ($4.74 billion) in 2018, according to data compiled by Euromonitor International.
Most of the health and beauty stores here, are operated by conglomerates, like Shinsegae’s Chicor, Lotte’s LOHBs, CJ’s Olive Young and Amorepacific’s Aritaum.
Industry analysts expected that although the competition may intensify, Sephora will be able to gain competitiveness over local stores by introducing different product line ups.
“While Chicor is more focused on premium K-beauty brands, Sephora is expected to introduce more premium brands which are available to buy overseas, and foreign luxury cosmetic brands,” said Jade Lee, an analyst at Euromonitor International Korea.
Sephora, part of the French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, has nearly 3,000 stores worldwide. The beauty conglomerate has expanded aggressively in Asia, opening stores in Singapore, Thailand and India.