Kyungsoo Lee, Chairman of Cosmax, "One Pick" Japan... "Expanding K-Beauty Entry"

Attending the 2025 Qoo10 Japan K-Beauty Mega Conference
Strengthening Brand Support in the U.S. and Japan This Year

Cosmax, a cosmetics manufacturing development company (ODM) and a hidden supporter of the global 'K-Beauty' craze, is teaming up with Qoo10 Japan to target the Japanese market. Following last year’s move by competitor Kolmar Korea, which partnered with global e-commerce giant Amazon to support the entry of K-Beauty brands into the global market centered on the United States, Cosmax has taken over the baton this year.

On the morning of the 14th, Lee Kyung-soo, Chairman of Cosmax, attended the '2025 Qoo10 Japan K-Beauty Mega Conference' held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and told reporters, "This year, we will focus on the Japanese and U.S. markets." Having recorded a growth rate in the 30% range in the domestic market last year, the strategy is to increase growth rates in overseas markets such as Japan and the U.S. this year.

On the 14th, at the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Lee Kyung-soo, Chairman of the Cosmax Group, gave a presentation on "Cosmax's Success Story and the Competitiveness of K-Beauty" at the '2025 Qoo10 Japan K-Beauty Mega Conference.' Provided by Cosmax.

Since establishing its Japanese subsidiary in 2022, Cosmax has yet to see significant results. Currently, Cosmax’s sales distribution by region is highest in Korea (62%), followed by China (28%), Indonesia (6%), the U.S. (5%), and Thailand (2%).

Cosmax is currently focusing on securing new customers in Japan and acting as a bridge for K-Beauty brands to enter the Japanese market.

Cosmax plans to begin construction of a factory in Japan this year and operate it within two years. Previously, Cosmax aimed to start construction of a new factory in 2023 but only purchased the factory site and was unable to break ground due to local circumstances. The Kansai Osaka Expo absorbed all available workers into related projects, and labor costs also rose significantly.

The plan to start factory construction within the year reflects Chairman Lee’s determination to strengthen capabilities in the Japanese market. Jae-seon Eo, head of Cosmax Japan, explained, "We will focus production mainly on lip products and foundations, which have strengths in the Japanese market," adding, "We expect sales of 10 billion KRW within the year and believe that after the factory begins operation, sales can quickly reach 100 billion KRW."

On the same day, Qoo10 Japan announced it would actively support the entry of K-Beauty brands into Japan together with Cosmax. Given the explosive growth of K-Beauty brands in the Japanese market, the plan is to add more K-Beauty brands and establish Qoo10 Japan as the 'No. 1 K-Beauty online platform in Japan.'

Qoo10 Japan is a Japanese online open market operated by global e-commerce company eBay Japan. Qoo10 Japan has been operating since June 2010, and in May 2018, eBay acquired Qoo10’s Japanese business division, making it a 100% subsidiary of eBay.

According to Bain & Company, the size of the K-Beauty market within the Japanese beauty market reached $1.8 billion (approximately 2 trillion KRW) last year. This represents about a threefold increase from $600 million in 2019. The share of online channels in the beauty market is also growing. As of last year, online channels accounted for 22% of the beauty market, roughly doubling from 10% in 2019.

The competitiveness of K-Beauty brands in Japan is attributed to ▲market size ▲cultural affinity ▲similar sensibilities. Gu Ja-hyun, CEO of Qoo10 Japan, explained, "Compared to China or the U.S., which are large countries with diverse ethnicities making it difficult to target, Japan is culturally and geographically close, which makes it easier to control from Korea."

Gu predicted that K-Beauty’s growth could accelerate further. He said, "K-Beauty has grown mainly among people in their teens and twenties in the Japanese market, but recently it has expanded to those in their thirties and forties. It is taking root not only online but also in convenience stores, supermarkets, marts, and department stores, so its market share in the beauty sector is expected to grow from the current 7% to double digits (15%)."

Qoo10 Japan plans to support K-Beauty brands thoroughly to become the number one platform in the Japanese beauty market. The top three e-commerce platforms in Japan are Rakuten, Yahoo, and Amazon. However, in the K-Beauty sector, Qoo10 Japan holds the top spot with a market share of about 25%, followed by Rakuten (17%), Yahoo (10%), Amazon (6%), and its own mall and others (40?45%).

Gu said, "We will help create 20 companies valued at 1 trillion KRW and 100 companies valued at 100 billion KRW among K-Beauty firms within three years," adding, "The market values cosmetics companies at 20 to 25 times their worth, so we believe this is entirely possible."