Shinsegae Premium Beauty Select Shop
New Store Opening on June 27
Strengthened K-Beauty Brand Lineup
Industry's First "Hyper-Personalization Service" Offered
Shinsegae Department Store announced on June 26 that it will open a flagship store for its premium beauty select shop, Chicor, near Exit 11 of Gangnam Station on Seoul Subway Line 2.
Set to open on June 27, the Chicor Gangnam Station store is positioned as a "beauty specialty store curated with a sophisticated selection from global luxury beauty to K-beauty" as its core concept. The store has notably expanded its range of K-brands, which have been gaining popularity in the global beauty market. In addition, Chicor has enhanced its existing personalized product recommendation services and, for the first time among Korean beauty select shops, is introducing a "hyper-personalization service" that creates customized products tailored to each customer's unique characteristics. A representative example is a service that analyzes individual scalp conditions using artificial intelligence (AI) devices and produces customized shampoos and serums accordingly.
The Chicor Gangnam Station store has fully incorporated the DNA of the successfully renovated AK Hongdae branch. After its reopening in October last year, the AK Hongdae branch significantly increased its K-beauty brand offerings, resulting in sales that rose by more than 70% year-on-year during the first three months after reopening. The proportion of sales from foreign customers also reached 60% of total sales. The Gangnam Station store has similarly expanded its proportion of K-beauty brands from the previous 35% to 60%.
Upon entering the store, customers are greeted by the "K-beauty Makeup Zone," a signature area of the Chicor Gangnam Station store, featuring around 50 K-beauty brands. The store also introduces "Spotlight," a dedicated K-beauty pop-up space, for the first time. Each month, one of the most popular K-beauty brands is selected for a variety of events and promotions. The store also offers about 20 global beauty brands available exclusively at the Chicor Gangnam Station location, enabling one-stop shopping from K-beauty to imported beauty brands.
Deeper inside the store, Chicor has created its largest-ever "Perfume Zone." This area features the domestic niche fragrance brand "Born to Standout," which is entering a Korean beauty select shop for the first time. Customers can also find more than 30 premium brands, including "Tamburins," "Nonfiction," and "Hermes Parfum."
The store has also enhanced its "one-on-one personalized professional makeup service." At the three "Makeup Bars" within the store, resident professional makeup artists provide makeup tailored to each customer's skin tone and recommend related products. The store also offers demonstrations and consultations for the "K-idol makeup" style, which has recently become very popular among foreign customers.
Chicor operates a "Skin Care Zone," a premium spa area where customers can receive moisturizing and skincare massages. Other experiential and hyper-personalized services have also been strengthened, such as the "Beauty Lab," which recommends the best products for each skin type, and the "Beauty Device Zone," where customers can try out skincare products and compare brands before purchasing. To celebrate the opening of the new store, Chicor is offering discounts and gifts to Chicor membership customers based on their purchase amount until July 13.
Chicor is considering opening additional stores in areas with high concentrations of foreign customers, such as Myeongdong, Hongdae, and Dongdaemun, starting with the Gangnam Station flagship store. A Shinsegae Department Store representative stated, "We will continue to pursue strategic store openings to achieve solid growth based on profitability in the future."
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