Consumer - Korea: Takeaways from Asia marketing; Prefer consumer, sidelined in internet

Research evidence excerpt

Consumer - Korea: Takeaways from Asia marketing; Prefer consumer, sidelined in internet

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Consumer - Korea

Takeaways from Asia marketing; Prefer

consumer, sidelined in internet

Industry Overview

Beauty- More room to penetrate in global beauty market 26 May 2026

Most investors we spoke with generally agreed on our constructive view on Korea Equity

beauty brands’ global expansion story and international inbound trend. Both beauty Republic of Korea

export and intl inbound tourist arrival broke record in Apr/Mar at US$1.1bn and 2mn Consumer Products

respectively. The momentum should remain strong. As shown in 1Q results, N America Ahyung Cho >>

and EU markets continue to lead the growth. Apr-May export trend also suggests robust Research Analyst

momentum, and we view export base could get easier from Aug. Export trend was Merrill+82 2 3707Lynch0527(Seoul)

uneven in 2025 related to US tariff, with a relative higher base in 1H25 vs 2H25. ahyung.cho@bofa.com

Investors looked to be selective in the beauty space, on companies that can deliver Zoe (Jung-ae) Chun >>

Research Analyst

strong top line and resilient profitability. APR delivered all-around growth in its key Merrill Lynch (Seoul)

markets as well as in ‘other’ markets, with a healthy mid-20% OPM. The contribution zoe.chun@bofa.com

from other regions exceeded our expectations, suggesting new emerging opportunities

beyond N America/EU. Amore’s export should sequentially recover on its proactive multi-

brand strategy. Healthier export growth in N America/EU and other regions should be

positive triggers. CVS: convenience store

Domestic consumption- Inbound is more structural

Intl inbound travelers’ flow continues to break record, with over 2mn visitors in Mar and

Apr, up 27/29% YoY respectively.