British department store John Lewis signed an exclusive partnership with local K-beauty distributor Skin Cupid in April this year and opened a K-beauty "shop-in-shop" within its stores. After searches for Korean skincare on its own online mall surged approximately 800% over the past year, the retailer brought in 20 brands including Beauty of Joseon, Medicube, and Anua. Some products are configured as exclusive items sold only at John Lewis, and the store has introduced ingredient curation and expert consultation services, bringing the "Korean-style beauty experience" into the store.
Douglas, Germany's largest beauty retailer, has also put K-beauty at the forefront of its offline differentiation strategy this year. Recently, it operated an exclusive Beauty of Joseon pop-up store at its Düsseldorf location, expanding beyond simple brand entry to joint marketing and offline collaboration.
As major European retailers pour their energy into "wooing K-beauty," cases of joining hands with K-beauty specialty distributors or setting up dedicated display shelves are following one after another. In Europe, the home of cosmetics, K-beauty has been assessed as establishing itself beyond a mere imported brand to become differentiated content for offline stores.
According to Korea Customs Service import-export trade statistics on the 29th, European cosmetics exports in the first half of this year recorded $1.59623 billion, surpassing North America ($1.57035 billion) for the first time on a half-year basis. European exports grew from $1.09156 billion in 2023, to $1.41256 billion in 2024, and $2.04905 billion last year, nearly doubling in two years.
The industry assesses that the era of K-beauty 3.0 has arrived. After passing the period (1.0) that grew centered on the Chinese market riding the wave of K-dramas and the Korean Wave in the 2010s, and going through the period (2.0) in the 2020s when indie brands grew into global brands by targeting the United States using e-commerce such as Amazon and social networking services (SNS) as a springboard, the industry assesses that K-beauty has entered the 3.0 era, structurally moving onto a growth trajectory across all areas including region, distribution channel, and category.
K-beauty companies are also accelerating their push into Europe. APR, led by Medicube, entered Sephora's European online mall and approximately 450 offline stores in 17 European countries in phases this year. Starting with Amazon UK late last year, it expanded its sales countries to Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, and during this year's Prime Day it ranked No. 1 in Amazon beauty searches in the UK, Spain, and Italy.
D'Alba Global saw its European revenue rise 214% in the first quarter compared to the same period a year earlier. Its European Amazon revenue also increased 196%. A D'Alba Global official said, "We began targeting the European offline market in earnest late last year, and in the first quarter of this year alone our distribution network expanded rapidly, including entering all of Spain's roughly 200 Primor stores and Costco in France and Spain."
Goodai Global's Beauty of Joseon expanded its sales network from an initial entry into 120 Boots stores in the UK to approximately 1,300 stores currently. It has also entered lifestyle drugstores such as Poland's Rossmann and Hebe, establishing itself as a brand that local consumers purchase in daily life rather than a "direct-purchase brand." Amorepacific is also broadening its brand portfolio including Aestura, Sulwhasoo, Mamonde, Primera, and Illiyoon. Amorepacific's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) revenue grew about 4.7-fold in two years, from 51.8 billion won in 2023 to 170.3 billion won last year and 241 billion won this year.
Beyond Europe, Latin American markets such as Brazil are also emerging as a new growth axis for K-beauty. Cosmetics exports to Latin America in the first half of this year reached $168.06 million, surpassing the 2022 annual export figure ($101.62 million). President Lee Jae-myung, who is on a state visit to Brazil, also emphasized the potential for market expansion on the 28th, saying regarding economic exchange between Korea and Brazil, "We will be able to make significant achievements in three areas: joint development of next-generation civil aircraft, supply chain cooperation in the critical minerals sector, and K-beauty."
An industry official said, "Since Europe is geographically and economically connected centered on the eurozone, securing a brand's position in major countries allows relatively easy expansion into neighboring countries," adding, "Based on the business operation experience and brand recognition accumulated in North America, expansion into Europe is expected to widen beyond cosmetics to high-value-added product categories such as beauty medical devices."
