Shinsegae targets global luxury cosmetics market with own brand

South Korea’s Shinsegae International Inc. targets the global luxury cosmetics market with its own house brand as it aims to transform into a global high-end beauty creator from an importer of premium items for the local market.

The merchandising unit of South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Group said on Wednesday its luxury cosmetics brand Poiret is an official sponsor for Frieze London, one of the world’s premier contemporary art fairs, this year. Poiret plans to showcase its makeup collections at a lounge during Frieze London 2023 from Oct. 11 to Oct. 15.

Shinsegae International imports tens of famous foreign beauty brands such as Diptyque, Hourglass and Byredo for South Korean customers while managing six house cosmetics brands including Poiret.

The company in 2015 acquired the trademark of the historic French fashion house Paul Poiret founded in 1903, which launched fragrance products for the first time in the industry.

GLOBAL LUXURY K-BEAUTY

Shinsegae International created a cosmetics brand Poiret in 2021 with the trademark with a goal to make it a global luxury label that can compete against the world’s high-end makers.

Its products are much more expensive than similar ones from local rivals such as Sulwhasoo by Amorepacific Corp. and The History of Whoo by LG H&H Co.

Poiret plans to participate in Frieze LA and Frieze New York next year as a global partner as Shinsegae International regards those fairs where art lovers from all over the world gather as gateways to the premium cosmetics market.

The company recently launched a global e-commerce service for customers around the world while preparing to open offline shops in overseas markets.

“We are actively considering opening shops in the homes of beauty such as Paris and New York,” said a Shinsegae International official. “We are also preparing to make inroads into the Middle East and China where demand for luxury color cosmetics is strong.”

The move is expected to reduce the company’s reliance on imported brands and improve profitability. A brand generating stable profits in other countries is likely to help the firm sustain growth even when it loses from imported products, analysts said.

Shinsegae International was hammered when some foreign luxury brands such as Celine, which the company had imported for the South Korean market, decided to sell their products directly in the country.

Shinsegae International’s operating profit was estimated to have fallen 35.5% to 15.6 billion won in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to analysts.

Write to Ji-Yoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.