D&G Beauty plans ‘aggressive’ expansion in Korea in partnership with Shinsegae

The latter announced that it had inked an exclusive domestic distribution contract with the Italian beauty brand on September 26.

D&G Beauty began retail with Shinsegae through its online platform SIVILLAGE the next day, beginning with its perfume line. This would include the brand’s best-sellers, including Light Blue, K&Q, and Dolce perfume ranges.

Starting in October, the brand will expand online and offline to beauty retail chains, including Shinsegae’s own Chicor, as well as health and beauty chain Olive Young. It will also expand to popular e-commerce platform KakaoTalk Gift.

Next year onwards, the brand will launch touchpoints in domestic department stores and duty-free shops in Korea.

“We will aggressively expand our business through the brand heritage and awareness of D&G Beauty and our know-how in operating imported brands,” ​said Shinsegae in its statement.

At the same time, the company plans to expand its lineup of products. Under the fragrance category, it will introduce consumers to its Dolce & Gabbana Velvet Collection, a series of six ‘haute parfumerie’ scents.

It will also introduce the brand’s colour cosmetics line-up. This would include D&G Beauty’s Devotion collection, which features D&G’s “iconic Sacred Heart embellishment​” that is seen in its fashion and jewellery products.

Shinsegae’s portfolio of beauty and fragrance brands includes brands like Diptyque, Byredo, Santa Maria Novella, Oribe, Hourglass, Laura Mercier, and Davines.

Shinsegae said the addition of D&G Beauty was part of its ongoing initiatives to increase its growth potential by introducing “brands with high growth potential”​ to the market.

Back in-house

D&G Beauty is part of the Italian luxury group Dolce & Gabbana.

In February last year, it was reported that the firm would take its beauty and perfume business in-house with Gianluca Toniolo at the helm of the brand as its chief executive.

The firm had set up a new company to directly manage the development, production and sales of its cosmetics and fragrances in bid to transform its brand into a major player in the space.

In April 2021, Japanese beauty giant Shiseido disclosed plans​ to terminate the licensing agreement it signed in October 2016. This was estimated to have translated to a USD323 million loss.

As part of the agreement, Shiseido continued to produce D&G Beauty products till the end of last year.

The decision was part of Shiseido's medium- to long-term strategy WIN 2023 And Beyond,​ which refocuses on its prestige skincare business.