‘K Beauty’, which had stagnated in China, took off in Japan. It beat France for the first time in terms of Korean cosmetics imports, which had been ranked first for 30 years.
According to the Japan Imported Cosmetics Association on the 4th, the scale of Korean cosmetics imports in 2022 was 77.5 billion yen (approximately 706.8 billion won), ahead of France with 76.4 billion yen. France, which had held the top spot in the Japanese market for nearly 30메이저놀이터 years with its high-end brands such as Lancome and Chanel, was pushed down to second place.
Exports of Korean cosmetics to Japan have increased sixfold in the past 10 years. At Loft, a large grocery store in Japan, sales of Korean cosmetics between March and June of this year increased 1.6 times compared to the same period last year. Loft sells over 2,000 types of cosmetics from 210 brands. Among them, lipstick and mask packs are especially popular, Loft said.
The lipstick, co-developed by Japanese convenience store ‘Big 3’ Lawson and Korean cosmetic brand ‘ROMAND’, prepared a two-month stock, but was sold out in three days after its release at the end of March. Analysts say that the strategy of lowering the price to around 1,000 yen instead of reducing the size to two-thirds of regular lipsticks worked.
Satoshi Kurihara, executive director of Japan Imported Cosmetics Association, said, “It is a big turning point for the imported cosmetics industry.
The secret to the popularity of Korean cosmetics among both Japanese men and women is that they are relatively inexpensive and of excellent quality compared to French and American products.
It was around 2007 that the awareness of Korean cosmetics increased in Japan. BB cream , which combines the functions of essence, primer, and foundation, is popular. Until then, Korean cosmetics were not highly evaluated in Japan, which tends to focus on brands.
Along with the popularity of Hallyu idols, the perception that ‘products that even idols like at a reasonable price’ spread, especially among young people, and the popularity of Korean cosmetics has increased, according to the newspaper.
There are also challenges. Some Korean cosmetics contain ingredients banned in Japan. For this reason, it is pointed out that cosmetics imported by individuals and sold online can be a problem. Exaggerated advertising is also considered as a challenge to be resolved to maintain the popularity of Korean cosmetics.