Next I "New&New signs IPO lead manager contract with Kiwoom Securities... aiming for listing within the year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] New&New, an affiliate of Next I, a Korea-China cosmetics specialist company, announced on the 3rd that it has signed an underwriting agreement for an initial public offering (IPO) with Kiwoom Securities. It is preparing for an IPO aiming to be listed on the KOSDAQ market within this year.

New&New, established in 2010, is a domestic cosmetics research and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing), ODM (Original Design Manufacturing) specialist company. It develops and manufactures various products including basic and color cosmetics, and men's cosmetics, supplying them to globally renowned cosmetics specialist brands. Last year, it expanded its business area to customized OBM (Original Brand Manufacturing) that provides a one-stop service from brand trademark to product development, production, and marketing.

This year, to successfully enter the OBM business, it is focusing on trademark applications and hygiene permit registration procedures in various countries while expanding exports. In China, since 2016, it has been preparing hygiene permit registration for whitening specialty cosmetics and currently holds many products with completed hygiene permit registration.

Despite COVID-19 last year, it recorded sales growth twice that of the previous year and a high operating profit margin. In 2019, it posted sales of 19.8 billion KRW and operating profit of 1 billion KRW, growing 72% and 528% respectively compared to the previous year.

A New&New official said, “We plan to expand exports in the Asian market including Vietnam and Thailand, centered on China where interest in ‘K-Beauty’ is high,” adding, “We will secure competitiveness in OBM, a new cosmetics development trend, and successfully complete the listing preparation process within this year.”

Meanwhile, Next I is the second largest shareholder holding 20.77% of New&New’s shares. It also holds 51% of the shares of New&New’s factory located in Suzhou, China. The two companies are creating synergies in the cosmetics business by developing, selling, and operating a cosmetics lineup specialized for Chinese consumers through local production.