South Korean cosmetic company increases US presence
following the success of its first outlet, also opened in New York,
one year ago.
The company, known for its low-cost Missha as well as its Swiss Pure brands, has opened its second store in Queens Center shopping mall, at the opposite end of the city from its original 5th Avenue store, first opened in May last year.
It is planning to open four more Missha shops in New York by March, eventually boosting its total number of outlets throughout the US to 40 by the end of the year, according to a report from Asia Pulse.
Since kicking off its business in 2002, the company has grown from nothing to a sales turnover of KRW111.4 billion ($111.6mn) in 2004. The growth has come mainly by targeting the budget markets in the US and key markets in the Asia Pacific region.
Currently the company is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, with registered subsidiaries in China and the US. It also targets markets in Australia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Monglolia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Mexico.
Retail outlets for its Missha and Swiss Pure brands total 27 direct sales stores internationally, together with over 250 franchise stores.
It has also launched the on-line portal BeautyNet, which supplies beauty products to the South Korean market through a membership system.
In South Korea Able C&C CEO Seo Young Pil has received attention from both the media and the cosmetics and toiletries industries for breaking into a market that has been traditioanlly fiercely guarded by a small number of key players.
Seo says he has been able to undercut the competition by minimizing on marketing and packaging costs, thus being able to undercut the pricing margins of many of his leading competitors.
