Sephora to open Korea’s first store in Oct.

Beauty retailer Sephora, owned by French luxury group LVMH, will open its first store in Korea on Oct. 24, the group said Monday.

Sephora said it has decided to enter Korea amid growing interest here in multi-brand health and beauty stores.

“It is exciting for us to introduce Sephora to the Korean market, which leads the global beauty trend. Korea is one of the most dynamic markets in Asia. I expect Sephora will serve as a place to exchange domestic and global beauty trends,” said Benjamin Vuchot, president of Sephora Asia.

Sephora’s first store will span 547 square meters in Parnas Mall in Samseong-dong, Seoul. 

The retailer plans to open five brick-and-mortar stores and an online store by 2020, and 13 additional stores by 2022. All stores will have beauty advisers to help consumers find products suitable for their skin types, it added.

“It is expected that Sephora would have continuously considered entering into Korea, as Korea is a powerhouse in the beauty industry,” said Jade Lee, a service and payment analyst at Euromonitor International Korea.

Lee also noted that Sephora’s target customers in their 20s and 30s are likely to already be familiar with the retailer through e-commerce and overseas travels. The main products offered by Sephora here may be its popular brands like Hourglass as this could differentiate it from other health and beauty stores like Olive Young, Lalavla and LOHBS, Lee added.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)