Chairman Seokyungbae's Trusted Aide Steps Up... Amore, Overseas Subsidiary Heads Fully Replaced in Bold Move

Executive Director Lee Joon-sik, Former Chairman's Secretary, Appointed Head of European Branch
Review of Existing Online and Offline Business Structure in Chinese Market

Amorepacific Group has made a bold move by completely replacing the heads of its major overseas subsidiaries. The emerging key markets of Europe (EMEA) and North America will accelerate performance improvement by bringing in new personnel, while the stagnant Chinese market is expected to undergo intensive structural reform through the replacement of its subsidiary head.

According to the beauty industry on the 24th, Amorepacific Group appointed Executive Director Lee Joon-sik, who was previously the secretary general of the chairman's office, as the new head of Amorepacific's European subsidiary starting from the 1st of next month. Following the replacement of the heads of subsidiaries in China, North America, and Japan earlier this month, a new figure has been selected for the European subsidiary head position for the first time in three years. Since 2022, Amorepacific Group has set its management cycle to July each year and conducts regular personnel changes accordingly.

The new subsidiary head joined the company in 2015 as the head of the Osulloc Division and has worked as the secretary general since 2018, closely supporting Chairman Seo Kyung-bae. The company appears to have judged Executive Director Lee as the right person to add momentum to Chairman Seo’s overseas business plans. Chairman Seo Kyung-bae emphasized at the founding anniversary event last September that "we must continue to challenge new markets with high potential and growth such as North America and Europe."

Amorepacific's sales volume in the European region is the smallest among its overseas markets. However, in terms of growth rate, it is the highest among all markets, increasing by more than 50% annually. The main brands are Laneige and Innisfree. Laneige entered the UK and Middle East markets last year, and Innisfree is strengthening marketing in the UK, France, and Italy. An Amorepacific official said, "In the European region, we will seek to expand customer touchpoints in both online and offline markets by increasing new store openings."

Lee Joon-sik, the new head of the European regional corporation.

Earlier, Amorepacific made a sudden replacement of the heads of subsidiaries in China, the United States, and Japan at the end of last month. Giovanni Valentini, who has extensive experience in global cosmetics companies, was newly recruited as the head of the North American subsidiary, which is considered the next key market.

Amorepacific recorded sales of 87.8 billion KRW in the North American market in the first quarter of this year, approaching the quarterly milestone of 100 billion KRW in sales. Giovanni Valentini, who has worked at Unilever, L'Or?al Group's Kiehl's, Giorgio Armani, and Lanc?me, brings rich experience in the US and European markets and plans to strengthen local sales in North America. Amorepacific plans to target the US market not only with existing brands Laneige and Innisfree but also with Sulwhasoo. The company explained, "We will diversify our brand portfolio to increase our influence in the North American region."

The former head of the North American subsidiary, Na Jung-gyun, has moved to become the head of the Japanese subsidiary. The Japanese market is one of the regions that strongly supports Amorepacific's sales in Asia. Laneige is increasing sales mainly through multi-brand shop (MBS) channels, and last year, the brands Hera and Estra entered the local market to expand brand awareness. The company plans to strengthen cooperation with local distributors such as MBS and online malls through this personnel change.

In the Chinese market, which has experienced a steep decline in performance, Park Tae-ho, a former head of the domestic business division, was appointed as the subsidiary head. The company explained that in the Chinese market, rather than increasing sales, a comprehensive review of the business is necessary, which led to the replacement of the subsidiary head.

Amorepacific is conducting structural reform efforts in the Chinese market to recover sales that fell during the COVID-19 period. However, as sales recovery has not appeared, it is judged that high-intensity improvement is necessary, leading to the replacement of the subsidiary head. As of last year, sales in the Chinese market were estimated at 544 billion KRW, a 32% decrease compared to the previous year (791 billion KRW). The sales decline continued in the first quarter of this year, with first-quarter sales in the Chinese market recorded at 118 billion KRW, a 20% decrease compared to 149 billion KRW in the previous year. An Amorepacific official explained, "Due to changes in transaction structures and marketing investments, sales decline and operating losses are intensifying," adding, "We will conduct a detailed review of the business structure."