Food
L&K Cosmetic CEO Kwon Yong-soo hopes to turn the company into one of Asia’s leading beauty brands by expanding its private label product lineup.
Kwon, 50, started his business in 1993 as a Seoul-based cosmetics retailer, going through a series of ups and downs before launching the cosmetics retail and manufacturing brand in 2013.
“My first online cosmetics site generated more than 15 billion won ($13.33 million) in annual sales back in the early 2000s when the internet shopping industry began to take shape,” he said in an interview at the firm’s Tokyo branch, Friday.
But he said it was not long before he ended up with mounting debt due to burgeoning rivalry and the lack of private brand products.
“As a retailer, I could not pile up enough margins by selling products from other companies,” he said. “But I was confident if we develop and manufacture our own products, the quality will be more trustworthy, helping us to generate more revenue.”
He has experience running some cosmetics retail stores in one of Korea’s largest shopping districts, Myeong-dong in central Seoul.
“Overseas travelers — mostly from China and Japan — are the major revenue source for most cosmetics stores there. But the Myeong-dong stores always come with risks — such as cross-border political conflict or the spread of infectious diseases,” he said.
“For example, when the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) hit Korea in 2015, we had to suffer deficits for almost half a year when foreign travelers were reluctant to visit the nation.”
Such unexpected risks were the key reasons for his decision to tap into the Japanese market.
L&K Japan was established in 2013 when Kwon turned his eyes on manufacturing private label products.
The decision came as he has sought to create a stable and profitable source of income for the long term, which he thought would prevent the recurrence of his previous downfalls.
“We launched our private mask sheet pack brand, Mask Diary, in 2014, with our Japanese subsidiary running three retail stores there,” he said. “Mask Diary will also be available in the Chinese market soon.”
Other private products of the company include wrinkle essence, regenerative skin cream and UV protection BB cream.
In a bid to seek new revenue areas, L&K Japan also opened an aesthetic skin massage therapy store in Tokyo’s commercial center of Shinjuku last week.
“Demand for Korean beauty services and products remains strong in Japan,” he said. “That is why I decided to start the new business here.”
The company also seeks to continue its winning streak in China. In 2015, L&K opened its online mall at the country’s largest online marketplace, Taobao. The Korean firm has since forged partnerships with such local internet titans as Alibaba and Alipay.
“Our ultimate goal is to diversify our product lineup and enhance our brand image, so we can set foot in other territories such as North America and Europe,” he said. “Toward that end, L&K will continue to spare no efforts in cosmetics R&D.”
