GlobalSpa gets in a conversation with Mr. Doyoul Lee, General Manager, AmorePacific India and Managing Director, Innisfree India, to know more about the company’s way forward and its current brands in the Indian market.
Established in 1945 in South Korea, AMOREPACIFIC is a corporation which has provided a total package of beauty and health solutions through 30 brands, globally! It is committed to being the ‘Asian Beauty Creator’ and has joined UN Global Compact in 2007 in its pursuit of sustainable management and was admitted to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) in 2010. In India, AMOREPACIFIC is the parent company to four key South Korean beauty & personal care brands that have been launched in the Indian market (Innisfree-2013, Laneige-2019, Etude-2019, and Sulwhasoo-2020) under the leadership of Mr. Doyoul Lee. GlobalSpa gets in a conversation with him on sustainability, men’s skincare, and the company’s future plan.
1.) AMOREPACIFIC has seen a tremendous growth in the past years in India. How has the journey been like for you?
I am overwhelmed to receive a huge response when we launch our new brand in India. It has been an amazing and unforgettable journey of Innisfree, Laneige, Etude and Sulwhasoo and it was an amazing experience to learn and understand the market and customer behavior. K Beauty is a rage these days and Gen Z loves it. K-Beauty stands for an incredibly personalized approach to skin care with the utmost care given to quality. We are honored to have such an incredible market and customers who love our products and give us a chance to bring our brand closer to them. We would like Indian consumers to get maximum benefits from our brand and products. Indians are already aware about the Korean Beauty Regime, specially North East India, Delhi, and Mumbai. People love everything about Korea like K Beauty, K drama, and K Pop culture.
The response of all the brands has been good till now. Hence we have expanded our stores of all the brands all over India.
a) Innisfree- We are encouraged by the appreciation and overwhelming response that Innisfree has received from its consumer’s from different parts of India now. For Innisfree, our endeavor is to provide customers with the magical powers of Jeju Island and touch the lives of our million consumers. Innisfree follows the trend faster than any other brand and we have a principle of changing 30% in & out every year to give newness to our customers. We have tried and studied the market and hence conceptualized the product list so that it suits each and every customer in all parts of India. Under lockdown also we have hosted many virtual launches which were a big success. Our influencer associations and digital collaborations have been massive during COVID as well and have collaborated with known KOL’s for our LIVE sessions and other digital activities too. Innisfree has hosted AP day with other AP brands which was again a digital driven campaign.
b) Laneige- Laneige has been a very successful brand in India. Indian customers love the packaging and hydration benefit that the products provide. We collaborated with big and small KOL’s and also came up with good offers for the exclusive launch at Nykaa. Laneige has been promoting products month on month basis with specific focus in order to educate the customer about the new range. During the Nykaa Pink Friday, Laneige sales were the highest ever recorded since the launch which was supported by bloggers and other influencers. Laneige has hosted AP day with other brands which was again a digital driven campaign. Contests and other activities are always running on the SNS platforms to promote brand information and build engagement.
c) Etude- Indians love Etude for its color, textures and products. It’s a fun young brand. Etude is also running a contest on SNS platform, every Sunday which is called “Sweet Sunday” contest; to increase the number of followers and engagement on the platform. We have lined for LIVE sessions during festival season and some masterclasses with our in house expert. Also we are doing a lot of KOL collaborations.
d) Sulwhasoo- Sulwhasoo had a grand launch in India on the 13th of July last year, exclusively on the Nykaa omnichannel. Sulwhasoo is the luxury brand of AmorePacific. First Care Activating Serum successfully entered the market with much greater sales results than expected. One of the highest prices ranged products, concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream, its sales performance is gradually and steadily growing and we are definitely seeing opportunities from the luxury skincare market segment in India for Sulwhasoo. We are also launched in Nykaa Luxe Store in DLF Avenue Saket and Chanakyapuri Delhi, and have a plan to expand further at more destinations in Pan India.
2.) AMOREPACIFIC brands cater to both women and men, and while women definitely take up the major portion, what are your expectations on the men’s frontal in India?
These days men are using various types of beauty products in the world that we never have seen earlier. Even though less apply/try than women, I think men`s interest in beauty started to increase in Indian market too. It is not difficult to see men applying beauty products on their face. We would like Indian consumers to get maximum benefits from our brand and products.
We have many men who come and purchase products. They check out products under men range and get personal consultations from our Greenus at the stores. Men also check online video tutorials to check out a men skincare regime. For Innisfree we have also started targeting and working with Male Influencers since male skincare market has gone big for sure. According to market research firm Nielsen, 177 new male grooming brands or variants were launched between April 2018 and March 2019. The size of the branded male grooming segment has crossed the Rs 5,000 crore-mark in urban India. While shaving and face care products continue to account for over 50 per cent of the male grooming pie, new categories such as body care and hair care are also fuelling the growth.
3.) How has the pandemic impacted the skincare industry and how do you plan to further expand on the change of consumer practices?
The skincare industry also got impacted due to the pandemic situation but I think customer concern to manage skin did not reduce as much. The actual issue was the non-availability of contact points with customers. Most customers moved to digital space from offline during the lockdown period, it made us focus more on digital. We are trying to attempt new things in the digital space.
Since the lockdown started, there has been an increase in online shopping. Consumers who visited the store than buying products online also adapted to shop online. Online shopping is convenient and literally a click away. I feel a lot of people who prefer buying products offline will still prefer to buy them online even after we go back to a normal, Covid-19 free environment. Footfall for offline won’t recover 100% than before. Accordingly, we will strengthen our online business including expansion to new digital platforms.
4.) The company has been known for its sustainable initiatives, from packaging to ingredients. So what’s next when it comes to clean beauty?
Considering Innisfree we have recently launched Simple Label – Vegan Makeup Collection which has Tinted moisturisers and different color lip balms. It has nature derived pigments for mild, natural color payoff. It contains red beet and sweet potato extract. We will also continue to launch our best seller – Green tea seed serum in Eco-friendly packaging.
5.) Lastly, what is next for AMOREPACIFIC? What can India expect soon?
We have lots of brands which we are considering to introduce our Indian customers. We are looking for new products and brands to meet the needs of Indian customers which is not even decided yet.
