LG Household & Health Care Ltd.’s premium cosmetics brand Whoo and AmorePacific Corp.’s budget brand Innisfree are each expected to reach 1 trillion won ($887 million) in sales this year, becoming the second and third labels to hit the significant milestone after oriental cosmetics brand Sulwhasoo last year.

Sales of premium cosmetics brand Sulwhasoo owned by AmorePacific hit 1 trillion won last year for the first time as a single beauty label in South Korea. Sales of the brand is projected to reach 1.6 trillion won this year, up 60 percent from a year ago, thanks to brisk sales from luxury department stores and online malls in China. Sulwhasoo currently manages 90 stores in China and 10 in Hong Kong. It also has stores in 11 other countries including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the United States, and Canada.

LG Household’s Whoo that was launched in 2003 has been chasing closely behind Sulwhasoo in terms of sales. The brand is projected to raise over 1 trillion won in sales this year based on its differentiated concept of providing herbal and oriental skincare products. As part of efforts to chase its rival Sulwhasoo, the brand launched the History of Whoo series after analyzing hundreds of books on secret beauty tips and recipes of the royal family of Joseon Dynasty.

Whoo targeted consumers in China who favor herbal scent and fancy images by emphasizing the story of the royal family and introducing luxury and fancy product containers. The brand has been promoting luxury marketing at department stores in China ever since it first made inroads into the market in 2006. There are currently 140 Whoo stores at department stores in China as of June, up 16 from December last year.

AmorePacific’s budget cosmetics brand Innisfree is also expected to top 1 trillion won in sales this year. In the first six months of 2016, Innisfree has already raised 400.2 billion won in sales, up 38 percent from 289.1 billion won during the same period last year. The label is projected to raise 800 billion won in sales this year, excluding sales of products manufactured by its Chinese corporation. When including all product sales, Innisfree is projected to have raised 600 billion won in sales in the January-June period and is most likely to reap more than 1 trillion won in sales for the whole year.

By Park Eun-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]