Once upon a time, cosmetics stores of various brands could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys of South Korea. However, due to the epidemic, the Korean beauty industry has been hit hard and a large number of specialty stores have been closed.

Once upon a time, various brands of cosmetics store could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys of South Korea. However, due to the epidemic, the Korean beauty industry has been hit hard and a large number of specialty stores have been closed. Recently, the shares of the parent company of the well-known Korean beauty brand " Myshang " were even listed for sale.

Seoul Myeongdong business district is a representative shopping center in South Korea because it brings together various Korean fashion and beauty brand stores. However, due to the sharp drop in foreign tourists, Mingdong is becoming increasingly depressed, and vacant stores can be seen everywhere. There are very few beauty stores left on the main street where the reporter came. Recently, the largest shareholder of MyShang parent company said it would list and sell its shares in the company.

Mystery was established in 2000 and is one of the first brands in South Korea to create street cosmetics stores. It has won the love of Korean consumers for its cost-effective mid-to-low-end routes and has quickly expanded its market overseas. Myshang's parent company ranks third in the Korean cosmetics industry. After being acquired by its current largest shareholder, a Korean private equity fund, in 2017, its performance declined due to many factors. Later, it encountered the epidemic. Last year, its operating loss reached 22.4 billion won, or approximately RMB 110 million. The mystery of its heyday was still in Korea with more than 700 stores, while less than half of them remained last year.

In fact, mystery is just a microcosm. Affected by the epidemic, the Korean beauty industry has suffered a huge impact. In addition to the weakening of people's demand for cosmetics and the shift of shopping habits to online, the rapid development of cosmetics collection stores that bring together many brands has also posed a threat to single-brand stores. Data shows that the number of major cosmetics stores such as South Korea's Myshop, Feishi Xiaoshou, , Instagram Fengyin , etc. has dropped sharply from about 3,400 in 2018 to less than 2,300 last year, a decrease of more than 30%.

Although people's demand for cosmetics is gradually recovering, for the Korean beauty industry, the rising prices of raw materials such as cosmetics such as palm oil and labor costs have become a new problem. Under the huge pressure of survival, brands are looking for new business ideas. The more common approach is to actively reduce offline stores, strengthen online channels sales, and open up new overseas markets. Some companies are entering the health care products market to find new directions.

(Source: CCTV Finance)

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