Amorepacific opened the first Innisfree store in New York in the fall of 2017. According to a report by The Korea Times, the K-beauty giant has made the decision to shutter all stores in North America. Ten Innisfree stores in the US were closed in February and two locations in Canada have shut. All stores will be closed moving forward, but consumers will still be able to purchase the brand through Sephora’s online store.
“We opened our first Innisfree store in Canada to introduce updated K-beauty products there, but due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation, we have decided to close down our shops,” an Amorepacific official said.
The brand’s sales fell 17.2% year over year to 89 billion won ($79.89 million) in the first quarter of 2021. Popularity is also fading in the Chinese market. After entering the market in 2012, Innisfree rode the K-beauty wave, opening over 600 stores. The brand has closed 140 stores in China and will close 170 more by the end of the year.
Innisfree is not the only brand in the Amorepacific portfolio that’s struggling. Etude House, facing capital impairment, began closing stores after sales peaked in 2014. In 2016 the brand had 525 Etude House shops in Korea and 232 stores abroad. Of the 37 subsidiaries of Amorepacific, Etude House is the only domestic corporation that has reached the point of capital impairment.
Amorepacific said it will focus on digitization and strengthening its brand’s online presence, focusing on digital channels over its physical footprint. The group reported that its first-quarter earnings increased by almost 90 percent year on year on the back of online and overseas sales growth. Net profit hit 176.8 billion won ($159.2 million) for 2021′s first quarter, an 86.5 percent increase from the same period last year. Sales grew 8.5 percent to 1.39 trillion won ($1.2 billion). The group’s domestic sales grew 6.9 percent compared to 2020′s first quarter, with online orders surging over 30 percent. Meanwhile, overseas sales got a 19.6 percent boost; sales in China rose 30 percent.
