K-Beauty’s Growth Map Shifts: Beyond China to Expansion in the US and Europe

Amorepacific's Americas Sales Up 57%

LG Household & Health Care: North America Sales Surpass China for the First Time

APR Achieves 380% Growth in Europe

Growth Axis of K-Beauty Shifts Westward

The overseas growth map of South Korea's "Big Three" cosmetics companies is changing. Amorepacific and LG Household & Health Care, which have shifted their focus to the United States to offset sluggish performance in the Chinese market, delivered clear results in their North American business in the second quarter of this year. Meanwhile, APR not only maintained strong growth in North America but also recorded explosive sales growth in Europe. The growth axis of domestic cosmetics companies, which previously centered on China, is rapidly shifting toward the United States and Europe.

The Seoul International Cosmetics and Beauty Industry Expo and the International Health Industry Expo are bustling with both domestic and foreign visitors. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang

According to the industry on August 17, Amorepacific has entered a phase where it is experiencing both top-line growth and improved profitability overseas, with the United States at the center. In the second quarter, revenue from the Americas was KRW 210.4 billion, up 56.5% from the same period last year. Locally recognized brands such as Laneige and COSRX drove this growth, and combined sales from the Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) exceeded half of the company’s total overseas sales. In contrast, sales in Greater China fell by 6% during the same period. Amorepacific's overseas operating profit reached KRW 71.8 billion, a 99% increase, surpassing domestic operating profit. Not only has the center of its overseas business shifted from China to the West, but its profit structure is also changing fundamentally.

LG Household & Health Care has also reached a turning point in its North American business. For the first time, North American sales have surpassed sales in China. In the second quarter of this year, LG Household & Health Care's North American revenue was KRW 205.8 billion, marking a 47.3% year-over-year increase. In contrast, China sales declined by 5% to KRW 176 billion over the same period. After a long period of high dependence on China, North America is now evaluated as having established itself as a replacement market.

APR is expanding its front beyond the United States into Europe. North America remains APR’s largest overseas market, with second-quarter North American sales rising 264.6% year-over-year to KRW 376.3 billion—more than twice the amount of its European sales. However, the pace of expansion into new markets was fastest in Europe. APR’s European sales surged 380.3% to KRW 145.1 billion. The share of European sales in APR’s total sales jumped from 9% in the second quarter of last year to 19% in the same period this year. The combined proportion of sales from North America and Europe expanded from 40% to 68% in just one year. This is seen as a result of rapidly replicating the product competitiveness of Medicube and its digital marketing approach, proven in the United States, in the European market.

Industry analysts say that the second-quarter results of the Big Three cosmetics companies symbolically illustrate the “de-China” trend in the domestic cosmetics industry. Whereas previously, most overseas revenue came from China, the focus is now moving toward the West and further diversifying into markets such as North America and Europe.

Jiyoon Jung, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said, “In the second quarter, leading firms like Amorepacific and LG Household & Health Care posted Western-market-driven top-line growth rates that far exceeded market expectations. The region to watch is Europe, especially the UK, which surpassed Hong Kong to rank fourth after the United States, China, and Japan, demonstrating a strong export momentum for Europe.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.