Once a billionaire factory, Korea s beauty industry turns ugly
Yoojung Lee
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Three years ago, Suh Kyung-Bae was the second richest person in South Korea. Today he s barely Top 10, a stark reversal in a K-beauty boom known for minting billionaires, not breaking them.
Suh s $US3.6 billion ($4.7 billion) fortune – down from roughly $US8 billion in 2017 – is largely comprised of shares in his family s cosmetics conglomerate, Amorepacific Group, which have fallen more than 40 per cent from a mid-January high. The parent of brands like Innisfree, Laniege and Sulwhasoo, Amorepacific was struggling even before COVID-19, and the pandemic has ushered in a slew of lifestyle changes that have made cosmetics less central to women s daily routines.
Dec 28, 2020
Three years ago, Suh Kyung-bae was the second-richest person in South Korea. Today he’s barely in the Top 10, in a stark reversal of a K-beauty boom known for minting billionaires, not breaking them.
Suh’s $3.6 billion fortune down from roughly $8 billion in 2017 is largely comprised of shares in his family’s cosmetics conglomerate, Amorepacific Group, which have fallen more than 40% from a mid-January high.
The parent of brands like Innisfree, Laniege and Sulwhasoo, Amorepacific was struggling even before COVID-19, and the pandemic has ushered in a slew of lifestyle changes that have made cosmetics less central to women’s daily routines.
By YOOJUNG LEE | Bloomberg | Published: December 28, 2020
Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. Three years ago, Suh Kyung-Bae was the second richest person in South Korea. Today he s barely Top 10, a stark reversal in a K-beauty boom known for minting billionaires, not breaking them. Suh s $3.6 billion fortune down from roughly $8 billion in 2017 is largely comprised of shares in his family s cosmetics conglomerate, Amorepacific Group, which have fallen more than 40% from a mid-January high. The parent of brands like Innisfree, Laniege and Sulwhasoo, Amorepacific was struggling even before covid-19, and the pandemic has ushered in a slew of lifestyle changes that have made cosmetics less central to women s daily routines.
The Straits Times
The pandemic has taken a double hit on K-beauty.PHOTO: AFP
PublishedDec 28, 2020, 7:30 am SGT
https://str.sg/JRXf
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