New | Sogo taps South Korean chic for new Hong Kong store opening

K-pop star Taeyang was guest of honour at Monday’s opening of Sogo Tsim Sha Tsui, which has about 40 per cent of its 13,000 square metres devoted to cosmetics – much of it designed to tap into the surge in consumer spending on South Korean beauty products.

Hong Kong has overtaken Japan this year to become the second-largest export market for Korean cosmetics. The city’s shoppers bought US$213 million worth of imported products in the first eight months of the year, up 83 per cent year on year, according to Korean Customs Service figures. That compares with US$323 million on the mainland and US$104 million in Japan.

Lifestyle International is one of many firms seeking to harness hallyu – or Korean cool – to promote their beauty brands.

Burberry launched a dedicated beauty-only store in Seoul yesterday. Called “beauty box” stores, the British fashion house first tested the concept in London’s Covent Garden a year ago. The Korean boutique is its first outside of the UK.

Estee Lauder chief executive Fabrizio Freda described Korea as a key exporter of trends in Asia during a recent conference call with investment analysts in which he detailed the rationale for incorporating Korean looks in its own brands.

Beauty chain Sa Sa has increased the number of Korean brands it stocks to almost 80. A Sa Sa spokesman said turnover of Korean products had jumped 56.4 per cent year on year in the first half of 2014-15 financial year in Hong Kong and Macau.