Missha, one of the earliest local make-up brand in Korea is changing its stores name to NUNC. The new store will also have different format than the previous one.
Instead of the old one-brand shop, it is going to change into a multi-brand shop. The transformation is set to start at its Ehwa Women University and Hongik University branches. Both are the first one brand stores of the company.
Missha, the pioneer of Korea’s one brand road-shop makeup
Previously, Missha is the first South Korean local cosmetic brand to open a one-brand shop. Able C&C, its parent company started by selling the products door to door through individual salesman. It also distributed the products through cosmetic retailers and department stores.
Though being a one-brand store was risky and very much alien to the customers, Missha soon became very popular. The unbelievably low price and good quality it offered attracted most women in Korea. Able C&C found itself bathing with money after it recorded a KRW 112 billion sales in 2004. Just two years after launching the one-brand shop.
Soon, the trend of Korea’s road-shop brand started. Many other one brand stores popped up throughout Korea. Those brands including The Face Shop, Innisfree, Clio, TonyMoly, etc. are now leading the spread of K-beauty around the world.
But the market for local road-shop brands in Korea is getting sluggish rapidly. It is struggling with competition against health and beauty stores such as Olive Young. The H&B stores has an advantage of selling both local and imported cosmetics from various brands in one store.
The crisis got Seo Young Pil, Missha’s CEO, sold his company to IMM PE, a private equity management company in 2017. Now, Able Cheng led the cosmetic brand and he made many breakthroughs for it.
He launched the company’s first flagship store called the M Gallery in Myeong-Dong, Seoul. He also plans on opening more store this year. Making it from 704 at the end of 2018 to 750 by the end of 2019.
