1 – ‘Seamless link’: K-beauty platform PowderRoom tapping into e-commerce and product co-creation
South Korean beauty content platform PowderRoom is expanding its business into e-commerce and product co-creation to tap into the digital opportunities generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
PowderRoom is a South Korean social beauty platform that began on the Naver platform in 2003, and now attracts over 4.4 million users monthly.
Over the years, it developed communities on various social network sites including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
“PowderRoom is trying to develop total beauty platform where users can find own taste by sharing opinions and reviews, searching information, enjoying content, and following a group of users with similar beauty profile and concerns,” said Ho-Jin Song, chief strategy officer of PowderRoom.
2 – Made-to-order: Lillycover envisions robotic customised beauty system for scalp care and make-up
K-beauty start-up Lillycover aiming to expand its robotic customised beauty system beyond skin care and branch out into scalp care and colour cosmetics.
Based in South Korea, Lillycover was established in 2016 by CEO SunHee An, who has a background in computer engineering.
Before becoming a beauty entrepreneur, An was working in the medical field, where she developed medical devices for burn patients. This sparked her interest in skin health and ignited her determination to develop customised skin care solutions.
“The fact is that the human skin condition changes depending on food, environment, stress… However, the trend is that skin care products are made in large quantities and stored in warehouses. Instead, people need to have their own skin care solutions customised to each of them. It was this point that inspired me to develop a customised skin care company,” said An.
3 – Creating integrated experiences: Watsons believes O+O model gives it a leg up against e-commerce marketplaces
Health and beauty retailer Watsons believes that third-party e-commerce platforms cannot match the ‘unique and integrated experiences’ provided by its O+O business model, claiming ongoing investment in the latter is giving it a competitive edge.
In recent years, the Hong Kong-based company has been strengthening its offline plus online (O+O) business model, which helped firm to overcome the retail challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the sharp swing towards e-commerce and the meteoric growth of third-party e-commerce platforms over the past year, Watsons remains confident in its strategy to compete with them.
“E-commerce marketplaces are an additional choice for customers to browse and shop, and it also creates addition opportunities for Watsons,” said Malina Ngai, Group COO of A.S. Watson Group and CEO of A.S. Watson, Asia & Europe.
4 – Tiny but mighty: Foreo believes future of beauty tech lies in portable devices that give pro-level results
Beauty tech firm Foreo is betting big on small, handheld devices that can produce the same results as professional equipment at home, believing it to be the future of the beauty device business.
Foreo is a Swedish beauty technology firm which rose to prominence with Luna, a facial cleansing and massage device. According to the company, it has sold over 20 million Luna devices.
The company, which is celebrating its eighth anniversary this year, witness an unprecedented uptick in demand in the wake of the pandemic.
According to the firm, it saw a 30% increase in online sales alone.
5 – Strengthening Decorté: Kosé Corp aims to revitalise brand with new serum and online initiatives
Japanese cosmetics firm Kosé Corporation is working to rejuvenate the Decorté brand with a new product launch and e-commerce platform to capitalise on the global luxury beauty demand.
Founded in 1970, Decorté Cosmetics is a cosmetics brand under Kosé’s high prestige beauty portfolio, which also consists of brands including Jill Stuart and ADDICTION.
To capitalise on the potential of Decorté, Kosé has announced a series of initiatives to boost the brand globally.
Coming September, the company will mark the debut of a revamped version of Decorté’s Liposome serum.