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Maybelline New York, Wella... Global Brands Exit Korea One After Another, Outcompeted by K-Beauty

[비즈한국] L'Oréal Group's 'Maybelline New York' has decided to terminate its business in Korea. Sales through channels such as Olive Young and Coupang will be completely halted by the first half of this year. The global hair brand 'Wella' is also ceasing all domestic sales. As the domestic beauty market grows and the competitiveness of K-Beauty strengthens, global beauty brands pushed out by this trend are packing up and leaving the Korean market one after another.

Even After a Rebrand, L'Oréal's ‘Maybelline New York’ Finally...

The global makeup brand 'Maybelline New York' is withdrawing from the domestic market. Maybelline New York recently closed its Naver Smart Store and halted product sales on some online shopping malls. Currently, the only places to purchase Maybelline New York products are Olive Young and Coupang, but sales through these channels will also end within the first half of the year, marking a complete withdrawal from the Korean market.

An official from L'Oréal Korea, which owns Maybelline New York, explained, "Following an in-depth review and evaluation of future growth prospects, we have made a strategic decision to focus on brands that possess the greatest growth potential in the domestic market and meet the needs of our high-level Korean customers," adding, "As part of this strategy, we plan to end the operation of the Maybelline New York brand in Korea within the first half of 2025."

Maybelline New York is a makeup brand under the L'Oréal Group, sold in 120 countries worldwide including Korea. It began domestic sales in 1998 and recently underwent a rebranding to target Generation Z customers.

The L'Oréal Group first entered the Korean market in 1993 via L'Oréal Korea, introducing a diverse portfolio of brands. However, since the beauty market growth momentum slowed due to COVID-19, there has been a trend of phasing out cosmetic brands from the domestic market one by one over the past few years. In 2021, the French cosmetic brand 'Vichy' and the Japanese cosmetic brand 'Shu Uemura' ended their domestic operations. In 2023, the French perfume brand 'Atelier Cologne' also withdrew from the domestic market.

"Looking for Wella Hair Dye"... Hairdresser Community in Emergency

The global hair beauty brand 'Wella' is also withdrawing from the Korean market. SPW Korea, which has distributed the Wella brand domestically, stated that the supply of Wella products will end starting in February, in accordance with the decision of Wella's global headquarters. Through the online Wella Mall, SPW Korea announced that the Wella global headquarters decided to completely withdraw from the Korean market, noting, "We strongly requested the Wella global headquarters to withdraw this decision several times, but unfortunately, it was impossible to reverse the decision."

Wella entered the domestic market in 1981 through a technical partnership with Rami Cosmetics. In 1993, it introduced color dye products and has since been increasing its market share.

The hair beauty industry is scrambling to find alternatives following Wella's sudden exit from the domestic market. Online communities for hairdressers are flooded with posts from people saying they are "at a loss due to Wella's withdrawal from the Korean market" and searching for substitute products. Some hair beauty brands have even launched training sessions sharing recipes that can achieve colors similar to Wella dyes as their own alternatives. SPW Korea, which had been distributing Wella products, has hurriedly decided to supply a new Japanese hair beauty brand.

Person A, who sells beauty supplies in Namdaemun, said, "Shipments of Wella products have stopped. The remaining hair dyes displayed in the store will be the last of our stock. Customers ask why it's not being restocked, and I have nothing to say. I just tell them, 'I heard Wella went under.' The sales rate for Wella dyes wasn't bad, so it's quite embarrassing (that they pulled out of the business)."

The exodus of overseas global beauty brands from the Korean market is accelerating. The LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) Group's global beauty specialty store 'Sephora' withdrew from the Korean market last May. It was five years after its domestic debut in 2019. Sephora had announced plans to expand to 14 stores within three years of entering the domestic market, but failed to escape poor performance due to COVID-19 and eventually declared the termination of its business, closing all five of its remaining stores.

LVMH also decided to withdraw its cosmetic brand 'FRESH' from the domestic market. Introduced to Korea in 2002 through the importer Spruce Korea, Fresh gained popularity and interest from consumers, and the LVMH Group even established Fresh Korea in 2012 to enter the domestic market directly. However, as Fresh's sales continued to decline, they announced last year that they would end domestic operations. While the exact timing of the withdrawal was not initially disclosed, according to industry sources, they are expected to start closing domestic stores sequentially beginning this April.

The Japanese cosmetic brand 'THREE Cosmetics' has also withdrawn from the domestic market. Known as a "must-buy" item during trips to Japan, THREE Cosmetics entered the domestic market in 2019 and opened stores in major department stores, but quietly wound down its business last year.

Industry experts diagnose that the growth of the domestic cosmetic market has influenced the business withdrawals of global beauty brands. Lee Jong-woo, a professor of business administration at Ajou University, pointed out, "As the product quality and marketing levels of domestic cosmetics have risen significantly, becoming incredibly competitive, global brands are unable to hold their ground and are leaving." He added, "The cosmetics market is characterized by rapidly changing trends. It is difficult for global brands to respond as quickly as local brands. It is no longer a market where you can expect growth just by banking on brand power and spending on marketing as in the past."