CEO Seunghwan Kim: "Amorepacific to Invest in US Production Facilities Within 3-5 Years"

Bloomberg TV Interview
"Discussing with Clients to Respond to Trump's Tariffs on China"

Amorepacific is considering accelerating the establishment of production facilities in the United States in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies.

Kim Seung-hwan, CEO of Amorepacific. Photo by Amorepacific

On the 15th, Kim Seung-hwan, CEO of Amorepacific, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV, "We are discussing contingency plans with U.S. clients to respond to U.S. tariffs on China," adding, "We plan to invest in logistics and module manufacturing facilities in the U.S. within the next 3 to 5 years."

CEO Kim also stated, "We are thinking it will take about 5 to 10 years until actual production facilities are operational, but considering recent trends, we may need to speed up a bit," and added, "Despite short-term market volatility, the company's long-term vision and commitment to the U.S. market remain unchanged."

Bloomberg pointed out that Amorepacific is heavily dependent on product manufacturing not only in South Korea but also in China, making it vulnerable to the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Since the Trump administration took office, tariffs imposed by the U.S. on China have reached 145%. For South Korea, a 25% reciprocal tariff rate was announced, but President Trump decided to apply only the basic 10% tariff by postponing country-specific reciprocal tariffs for 90 days.

Thanks to the Korean Wave, including K-pop and K-dramas, last year South Korea's cosmetics industry ranked first in exports to the U.S., surpassing France. While consumption of Korean cosmetics in the Chinese market has slowed, the cosmetics industry has expanded its presence in the U.S. through partnerships with local distributors such as Amazon and Costco, as well as online promotions using platforms like TikTok and Reddit. According to Bloomberg, Amorepacific's North American market sales increased fivefold from 101.8 billion KRW in 2021 to 525.6 billion KRW last year.

CEO Kim said, "Our skincare brands are recording high sales as premium products in high-end cosmetics stores and online channels," adding, "Our goal is to diversify the lineup in the U.S. market from premium skincare to affordable products." He emphasized, "We believe that now is not the peak but that there is great potential for continuous growth in the mainstream market."