Vini Vici beauty enters China

Shinsegae International Co., the fashion arm of South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Group, aims to open a flagship store of its cosmetics brand VIDI VICI in China late next year to tap deeper into the world’s largest market.

Prior to the opening, it will launch a premium skin care line with a concept of lotus in November, the company said.

Shinsegae International recently established a local office in China to prepare for the opening of a VIDI VICI flagship store, according to a company official. It could open the store by the end of next year after getting necessary licenses from Chinese authorities.

“VIDI VICI is famous for its skin care goods in China, so we are planning to add a premium skin care line consisting of six products for women in their 30s and 40s with a price tag of below 200,000 won (US$178.08),” said an official at Shinsegae International.

VIDI VICI has successfully earned more than 10 billion won in sales every month since March thanks to the brand’s popularity among Chinese consumers.

It swung to profit of 570 million won for the first time last year since it was taken over by Shinsegae International in 2012. Its revenue is expected to reach 130 billion won this year, according to analysts.

Shinsegae International’s cosmetics business also reversed to profit of 5.7 billion won last year on sales of 62.7 billion won, and sales are forecast to more than triple to 200 billion won this year.

Meanwhile, Shinsegae International recently has won the exclusive right to sell the lineup of U.S. top makeup brand Hourglass Cosmetics in Korea and opened a store in a department store in Seoul.