April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] South Korean beauty giant AmorePacific announced on Jan. 11 that it has signed a partnership with Kuwait-based retail franchise behemoth Alshaya to expand in the Middle East.

It will start with a first Etude House store in Dubai in the second half of this year and will spread into other Gulf nations including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. 

The firm has been eyeing the region for some time and established AmorePacific Middle East, a wholly owned corporation, in Dubai in May, 2016. The cosmetics market in the region was worth US$18 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow at 15 percent a year by 2020.

“We will aggressively promote our innovative cosmetics culture to customers in Middle East who are increasingly eager for Asian beauty, with which we will pave a new road connecting Eurasia,” said Chairman Suh Kyung-bae in a statement. 

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)