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The man behind South Korea's largest cosmetics company, Suh Kyung-bae, is an avid user of its facial creams and other skincare products.
That first-hand experience has resulted in the 52-year-old chairman and chief executive of AmorePacific looking younger than his age and, he says, it has also paid off when building up its brands, which now have millions of female customers across Asia and America.
The cosmetics industry is huge in South Korea and his company's share price has risen more than tenfold in the past five years, making Suh South Korea's second-richest man, just behind Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee.
"I use all AmorePacific's products," Suh said. "I especially care about cleansing and sun care."
The company has a number of cosmetic brands, including AmorePacific, Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Mamonde, Innisfree and Etude House, with a wide range of skincare and beauty products.
Suh said that as a man leading a group that was focused on female customers, he had to listen to the women around him.
"I have very close relationships with females and it may come from my family composition - four sisters, my wife, my mother and two daughters," he said.
"I also maintain friendships with the wives of my friends. I have tonnes of questions for them and always enjoy listening to their thoughts. This might be the beginning to understanding our customers."
The popularity of Korean pop music and television dramas is one factor in AmorePacific's success story, with many women eager to copy the looks of Korean performers.
"It is true that the K-wave - K-pop and K-drama - somewhat helps our business," Suh said. "However, what we consider the most is our customers' needs. To understand them, we research each market, gain insights into the products our customers need and continue our innovation.
"I love this business as it pursues more beautiful and healthier lives for people. If I could choose again, I would probably take the same path to lead a cosmetics company."
Analysts say another factor in AmorePacific's success has been its use of natural ingredients such as ginseng, soya bean and green tea. Some Sulwhasoo products contain ginseng herbal ingredients and are popular with Chinese and other Asian customers. That herbal tradition can be traced back to the roots of the 70-year-old company. Suh's grandmother made camellia-based hair oils in the 1930s.
His father, Suh Sung-whan, took over the business in 1943 and expanded it, forming a company called Pacific Chemical Industry in 1945 which had a research lab to develop cosmetic products.
Suh joined AmorePacific in the 1980s after earning an MBA from Cornell University in the United States and worked in various departments before being appointed chief executive in 1997. Since 2002 he has taken the company international, expanding the market for its many cosmetic brands to Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines and the US.
It now has almost 7,600 staff overseas, more than the 6,000 it has in South Korea, where it enjoys a market share of 40 per cent. Suh said it was aiming to become a "great global brand company" by 2020.
"Our ultimate vocation is to make the world better and more beautiful by making our customers happy," he said. "In order to achieve this vocation, our aim is to produce great brands, and great products. I believe that the quantity target will be naturally fulfilled when quality growth is achieved."
He said Western and Asian customers might have different needs. "Global beauty markets have so far focused on the Western beauty ideal and standard, but we think that the new value of Asian beauty will take the lead in the global market in the years ahead," Suh said. "The distinct features of Asian women's skin and their beauty habits have been the main focus of our research. As a result, we have developed innovative skincare technologies."
He said the company's mission was to promote Asian beauty, which valued harmony between people and nature and balance between body and mind.
While Western beauty brands seldom offer drink products and instead focus on masks or creams, AmorePacific's research found Asian customers liked drink products that could improve their beauty. It developed a collagen drink product for its Laneige brand that had proved popular since its launch last year, with sales of more than 10,000 units a month in mainland China and Hong Kong. The mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong now account for 10 per cent of its sales and Suh wants that to increase to 30 per cent.
Mainland Chinese buyers do not only buy from mainland distributors but also fly to South Korea and buy beauty products at duty-free shops. Those purchases helped AmorePacific's net profit rise 42 per cent last year.
Suh takes the concept of balance personally too.
"When I do something, I just focus on that moment. When I have a meal, I focus on the meal; when I have a meeting, I thoroughly concentrate on the meeting; and when I come back home, I try to cut the tails of work," he said. "This is how I manage my life in a healthy way."


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AmorePacific chief executive Suh Kyung-bae understands his customers. Photo: SCMP Pictures

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Listening to women to understand customer needs has been key to the success of Suh Kyung-bae, the boss of South Korea's biggest skincare firm


The man behind South Korea's largest cosmetics company, Suh Kyung-bae, is an avid user of its facial creams and other skincare products.


South Korea's second-richest man made fortune from beauty

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Listening to women to understand customer needs has been key to the success of Suh Kyung-bae, the boss of South Korea's biggest skincare firm

Listening to women to understand customer needs has been key to the success of Suh Kyung-bae, the boss of South Korea's biggest skincare firm