Kurly Corp. and Coupang have entered South Korea’s online beauty market, intensifying the existing fierce competition.
Kurly, the operator behind the e-grocery platform Market Kurly, introduced an exclusive beauty platform named Beauty Kurly in November of the previous year.
Since then, it has been expanding its market share through a strategy focused on premium offerings.
Beauty Kurly currently hosts an array of high-end cosmetics brands such as La Mer, Sisley, Whoo, Kiehl’s and others that are exclusively available at department stores.
Market Kurly’s primary customers, those in their 30s and 40s, constitute an overwhelming majority of 70 per cent of Beauty Kurly’s customer base. Kurly reports that sales of high-end beauty products in the first half of this year were six times higher than those of the previous year.
Meanwhile, just last month, Coupang launched Rocket Luxury, a dedicated platform for high-end beauty brands, showcasing its determination to establish a presence in the beauty market. Rocket Luxury showcases 16 high-end cosmetics brands, including Estée Lauder, MAC and Bobbi Brown. All products have been directly procured by Coupang.
