[THE INVESTOR] Amorepacific on Sept. 15 opened the flagship store of its budget brand Innisfree at Union Square in Manhattan, New York.

The two-story building, located on a 157 square-meter site, sells 900 products, including 150 localized products sold exclusively in the US. 

“We sell cushion products in more colors exclusively in the New York store (to meet different needs in the US),” a company spokesperson told The Investor. “We plan to further extend our business to other big cities in the US.”

The New York launch comes as the Korean beauty giant is seeking to reduce its dependency on the Chinese market where its sales fell amid the prolonged diplomatic tension between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of the THAAD missile system. In the first half of this year, its Chinese sales dropped 6.1 percent to 3.26 trillion won (US$2.89 billion) and its operating profit plunged 30.2 percent to 508.9 billion won.

Along with Innisfree, Amorepacific has launched four brands in the US, including Amore Pacific, Sulwhasoo, Laneige and Annick Goutal.

On Sept. 12, the Korean firm also opened the first Sulwhasoo store at Galeries Lafayette, an upscale department store in Paris, paving the way for it to expand its presence in the European market.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)