Overseas K-pop fans are browsing products and services made by Korean small and medium-sized enterprises 

at the K-Collection event held at Messe Frankfurt in Germany on the 28th and 29th of last month. (KOFCA)

According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) successfully inked deals and sold products worth a total of 960 million won ($724,500) through their participation in the K-Collection with KCON Germany event.

The event, held from September 28 to 29 in Frankfurt, aimed to promote Korean products, particularly those from SMEs, in Europe.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, 20 Korean SMEs participated in 43 meetings with 18 local buyers during the event. The contracts signed amounted to $632,000, and sales during the event totaled 96,000 euros.

The K-Collection event runs alongside KCON, a major K-pop convention organized by CJ ENM. It offers a promotional platform for Korean SMEs to showcase their products, with the Frankfurt event marking its latest edition.

Since its inception in 2014, the K-Collection event has been part of a broader initiative to support the overseas expansion of Korean companies.

This year, the event featured 20 booths, offering a range of products in K-beauty, household goods, food, and fashion.

One notable participant was K-pop merchandise company Kpopmerch, which has been expanding globally, after its participation in the previous U.S. event.

“By focusing on the European market rather than traditional export destinations like the U.S. and Japan, we confirmed the positive reception to our SMEs’ products from local visitors,” said a ministry official. “We plan to continue expanding the presence of innovative products in new markets.”

In a related development, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy reported that Korean cosmetic exports hit a record high in September.

Cosmetic exports reached $926 million last month, up 12.2 percent year-over-year. This follows a steady rise in cosmetics exports since February, with a peak in May when sales surged by 26 percent compared to the previous year, totaling $879 million.

Cosmetics-related stocks have seen significant growth, with Korean firm SILICON2’s shares quadrupling from 12,840 won on April 22 to 52,800 won on June 21.

Amorepacific, a major player in the cosmetics industry, saw its stock rise by 9.04 percent on September 25, following China’s announcement of an economic stimulus package aimed at boosting liquidity, a positive signal for Korean firms with high export volumes to China.



By Kim Si-gyun, Kim Je-lim, and Minu Kim

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (October 2, 2024)