Customers experiencing products at the Amuse pop-up store held in Harajuku, Tokyo. (Amuse)

According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

South Korean beauty brands are gaining attention in Japan, particularly among the young consumers that go for trendy and cost-competitive items.

AMUSE, a South Korean beauty brand, opened a pop-up store in Harajuku, a popular shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday.

The store was crowded with fans of Wonyoung, a member of the girl group IVE and an AMUSE model.

Young consumers flocked to experience the store, causing temporary gridlock in the area.

Prior to the store opening, AMUSE accepted online registrations, and the 5,000 available slots filled in just three minutes.

According to Shinsegae International, which operates AMUSE, the brand’s sales in Japan during the first half of 2023 rose by 65 percent year-on-year.

AMUSE initially gained traction on major online platforms like Qoo10 Japan and Rakuten, where its signature product, Dew Tint, earned rave reviews and strong recommendations.

In August, the brand’s limited-edition Hello Kitty collaboration set a new record for daily sales on Qoo10 Japan, securing the top spot in the platform’s overall rankings.

Building on its online success, AMUSE is expanding its presence across physical retail locations throughout Japan and launching products tailored to local preferences to fuel further growth.

K-beauty brands, including AMUSE, are solidifying their presence in Japan’s competitive beauty market.

In September, eBay Japan announced that 79 of the top 100 products sold during Qoo10 Japan’s quarterly mega sale, Mega-Wari, were K-beauty items.

Remarkably, K-beauty products dominated the top 10, with VT’s Cica Daily Soothing Mask, Anua’s Autumn Night Set, and numbuzin’s Glutathione C Brightening Complete Set ranking top three in ranking.

These products also performed exceptionally well at CJ Olive Young, Korea’s leading health and beauty store.

Japanese retail platforms are now making concerted efforts to attract K-beauty brands, recognizing them as essential for drawing younger consumers.

K-beauty’s appeal lies in its combination of high-quality products, trendy colors and designs, competitive pricing, and rapid product releases.

LOFT, one of Japan’s top three variety stores, recently hosted the K-Cosme Festival last week, featuring 105 K-beauty brands.

This event made waves locally, as Korea remains the only country to have a large-scale beauty exhibition dedicated solely to its brands in Japan.

Similarly, Japan’s largest beauty retail platform, @cosme, operated by istyle, established a K-beauty task force to incubate and support Korean brands aiming to enter the Japanese market.

This initiative, launched earlier this year, helps new K-beauty brands navigate the competitive landscape in Japan.

Korea’s cosmetics exports are expected to reach a new all-time high this year.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is also working to ease international regulations to support K-beauty’s overseas expansion.

During the opening ceremony of the 2024 One Asia Cosmetics & Beauty Forum, held Thursday at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Food and Drug Safety Minister Oh Yu-kyoung emphasized the government’s commitment to promoting Korean cosmetics on the global stage.

“We will actively support international regulatory harmonization to facilitate the overseas expansion of Korean cosmetics,” she said.

The One Asia Cosmetics & Beauty Forum, organized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and co-sponsored by the Korea Cosmetic Association and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, is being covered by MBN as its media partner.


By Kim Hyo-hye and Minu Kim

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

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (October 18, 2024)