AmorePacific Group, the biggest skincare and cosmetics company in terms of sales in South Korea, is accelerating its expansion in Taiwan this year, focusing on boosting its organic skincare and cosmetics brand, Innisfree, in Taipei.
The group on Friday launched its second outlet in Taiwan under the Innisfree brand, in Taipei’s east district shopping zone, with the group investing about NT$10 million (US$332,780).
The new store is the brand’s flagship outlet in Taiwan, opened about two months after the group opened its first Innisfree outlet in the nation.
“The sales performance of the first outlet has been stronger than expected, leading the group to speed up its expansion in Taiwan,” the brand said in a statement on Thursday.
Innisfree saw daily sales at its first outlet average between NT$180,000 and NT$250,000 over the past two months, 50 percent higher than the parent company had expectated, the statement said.
SECOND BEST
The average was the second-highest average sales per unit area among the brand’s nearly 1,000 outlets globally, it said.
Average customer spending was between NT$800 and NT$1,000, which translates to three or four products purchased by each customer, the statement said.
The group expects the brand’s total sales in Taiwan to double or triple from current levels following the launch of the flagship store.
In addition, AmorePacific is set to open the brand’s third Innisfree outlet in the nation by the end of this year in Taipei, with an aim to make Innisfree the biggest South Korean skincare and cosmetics brand in Taiwan in terms of market share.
Innisfree made NT$9.5 billion in revenue last year, accounting for about 7 percent of the overall sales AmorePacific made, company data showed.
AmorePacific aims to grow Innisfree revenue by 47 percent this year to NT$14 billion, as it plans to launch a total of 60 new outlets outside South Korea, including in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Currently, overseas sales account for about 20 percent of overall revenue, according to company statistics.
1989 ENTRY
AmorePacific made its entry in Taiwan in 1989 selling products through a joint venture under two brands — Laneige and Iope. Iope is a cosmeceutical brand that targets customers in their mid-20s to mid-30s.
As a result of Laneige’s great success, the group established a separate, wholly owned subsidiary in Taiwan in 2004 and introduced various brands in the market in succession, including a herbal medicinal brand, Sulwhasoo.
Laneige currently operates 22 counters in major department stores in the nation, including Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store Co (新光三越百貨), Pacific Sogo Department Stores Co (太平洋崇光百貨) and Far Eastern Department Stores (遠東百貨).
The Sulwhasoon brand has three counters nationwide.
This story has been updated on June 3 since it was first published.
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