Korea’s cosmetics giant Amorepacific has partnered with Alshaya Group, one of the largest retailer in the Middle East, to make a first foray into this market.
Etude House, Korea’s No. 1 makeup brand targeting a young demographic, will be Amorepacific’s first global brand to enter the Middle Eastern market. Etude House is slated to open its first store in Dubai during the second half of 2017, with plans to extend its reach across Gulf Cooperation Council member countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
“Amorepacific will actively commit to promoting the company’s innovative beauty culture to meet growing interest of Asian Beauty among customers in the Middle East. By doing so, Asian Beauty is set to move beyond Korea and chart a new Eurasian path that connects across China, Southeast Asia, India, Europe and Middle East,” said Suh Kyungbae, Chairman & CEO of Amorepacific.
According to Amorepacific, the Middle Eastern cosmetics market is forecasted to grow at a high CAGR of 15% from USD18 billion in 2015 to USD36 billion in 2020. The colour makeup and fragrance sectors are especially pronounced in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) beauty market. For years, Amorepacific has invested in building regional expertise in the Middle East by assigning its regional experts in major cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Teheran and Istanbul to build local market insight. Amorepacific established a fully-owned subsidiary, Amorepacific ME FZ LLC, in May 2016 located in Dubai Design District (D3), the free economic trade zone driven by the UAE government as a centre for beauty, fashion and design industries.
