Amore, the E-commerce Powerhouse, Rewrites the 'K-Beauty' Legend Again

Q1 Earnings Recovery Expectations Soar
Operating Profit Expected to Increase 100%
New Global e-Commerce Division Established
Collaboration Success with Naver, Coupang, and Others
Online Sales Increase Over 30%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Amorepacific, which suffered a direct hit from COVID-19 and recorded its worst-ever performance last year, is expected to recover its first-quarter earnings thanks to large-scale restructuring and digital transformation. The core tasks emphasized by Amorepacific Group Chairman Seo Kyung-bae this year?‘strengthening strong brands and digital transformation’?are showing tangible results.

The Return of Amorepacific

According to FnGuide on the 24th, securities firms forecasted Amorepacific Group’s (AmoreG) first-quarter sales and operating profit to increase by 7.9% and 110.0% year-on-year, reaching 1.3815 trillion KRW and 142.6 billion KRW, respectively.

This performance recovery is attributed to selling content optimized for e-commerce platforms. To drive digital transformation, Amorepacific partnered last year with Naver, 11st, Musinsa, KakaoTalk, Coupang, and others. They launched an online-exclusive brand sold solely on Coupang and introduced products exclusively for KakaoTalk Gift. Chairman Seo Kyung-bae believed that it was essential to engage customers timely with content optimized for each platform. To respond swiftly to the market, Amorepacific established a new ‘Global e-Commerce Division’ early this year. The existing e-commerce division, previously under the Beauty Sales Unit, was reassigned to the Digital Strategy Unit, and a new organization was created.

The results are positive. Amorepacific stated, "Online sales this year have increased by more than 30% compared to the same period last year," and explained, "The proportion of digital sales in total revenue will significantly increase this year." Last month, sales from Amorepacific’s online direct mall (AP Mall) also rose by 36.9% year-on-year.

Last year, digital channels (including online and home shopping) accounted for 14% of total sales. Compared to 8% in 2019, this nearly doubled. Amorepacific Group aims to grow e-commerce sales by 30% this year.

Expanding Flagship Brand Products

Amorepacific plans to strengthen product capabilities across its brands this year. Targeted products include Sulwhasoo’s Jaumsaeng line and Yunjo Essence, Laneige’s Perfect Renew line and Neo Cushion, and Innisfree’s Black Tea Youth Ampoule and Green Tea line. Sulwhasoo’s flagship product, Jaumsaeng Essence, has recorded cumulative sales of 700,000 bottles over three years since its first launch in 2018, establishing itself as the brand’s representative elasticity essence. Amorepacific explained, "It grew by more than 50% year-on-year in the domestic market."

On January 1st, Hera’s ‘Rouge Holic’ and ‘Rouge Holic Matte’ were completely revamped with new colors and packaging, and their sales increased by more than 70% year-on-year. Notably, the color used by brand model Jennie in a photoshoot (Rouge Holic No. 100 Soul Pink) has sold over 10,000 units to date.

Next-generation brands are also being nurtured in the health functional food and derma cosmetic sectors. Amorepacific’s representative inner beauty solution brand, Vital Beauty, is recording 23% sales growth year-on-year alongside the growth of the health functional food market. The flagship product ‘Super Collagen’ grew by about 64%, while the red ginseng ampoule ‘Myeongjaksu’ and the ‘Probiotics’ category, recognized as major products for immune function improvement, grew by 33% and 28%, respectively. Particularly, achievements through e-commerce and global channels via overseas customers’ direct purchases stand out. Amorepacific Group plans to recover sales to 5.6 trillion KRW this year and raise operating profit to the 380 billion KRW level.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.