Riding the "K-beauty" boom, the market capitalization of beauty-tech APR Co. has topped 10 trillion won. It came 11 years after the company was founded and about a year and a half after its listing on the main bourse.
APR's market cap, which was in the 2 trillion won range as recently as April, surged from May, overtook LG H&H in June and Amorepacific in August, and rose to No. 1 in the beauty industry.
On the 3rd, APR's share price closed at 272,500 won, up 6.86% (17,500 won) from the previous trading day. Its market cap was tallied at 10.1999 trillion won, a 323.6% increase from the first-day market cap (240.8 billion won) on Feb. 27 last year. On the same day, LG H&H's market cap was 4.3842 trillion won, and Amorepacific's was 7.0308 trillion won. There were five decisive moments in APR's rise to its current position.
◇In 2014, launched first cosmetics brand "April Skin"
According to the industry on the 4th, Kim Byeong-hun, born in 1988 and CEO of APR, while enrolled in the business administration program at Yonsei University in 2014, founded the cosmetics startup Inoventures (now APR) with former co-CEO Lee Ju-gwang with capital of 50 million won and launched the first brand April Skin. During a U.S. exchange-student stint, he saw the potential of the e-commerce market selling cosmetics online and, according to accounts, jumped into business.
Kim adopted a D2C (direct to consumer) model, bypassing traditional distribution by selling directly to consumers through the company's own mall, and promoted April Skin's products through social networking services (SNS). As a result, the flagship product "Magic Snow Cushion" sold 3.5 million units within a year of its release. The early success of the startup brand became APR's growth engine.
◇In 2016, "cash cow brand" Medicube launched
To target the functional skincare market, APR introduced its second brand, "Medicube," in 2016. Positioned with the concept of a "dermatology cosmetic brand," Medicube is a portmanteau of "Medical Cosmetic" and "Cube," carrying the meaning of continuing to work at solving skin concerns as if solving a cube.
Medicube quickly gained a foothold in the market with a variety of products, including the "Red line" for acne-prone skin, the "Deep line" for elasticity and care for dark spots and blemishes, and the "Zero line" for pore and exfoliation care. In particular, the "Zero Pore Pad," released in 2017, spread by word of mouth among consumers to become Medicube's signature product, and recently ranked No. 1 in sales during Amazon Prime Day in the United States. The cumulative sales of Medicube's toner pad lineup surpassed 10 million units on the 4th.
◇In 2021, entered the beauty device business
In March 2021, APR made a full-fledged entry into the beauty-tech market by launching its first device, "Derma EMS Shot," through "AGE-R," a sub-brand under Medicube. It then unveiled ▲ ATS Air Shot ▲ Ucera Deep Shot ▲ Booster Healer device in succession, recording cumulative sales of 700,000 beauty devices about two years after the first launch.
Starting with the launch of the hit product "Booster Pro" in 2023, APR began operating its in-house production plant, "APR Factory." Since then, it has continued to expand the lineup with ▲ Ultra Tune 40.68 ▲ High Focus Shot ▲ Booster Pro Mini ▲ Booster Vibration Cleanser ▲ Booster Pro Mini Plus ▲ High Focus Shot Plus. As of September, APR's beauty devices surpassed 5 million units in cumulative global sales, with overseas sales accounting for more than half.
◇In 2024, APR listed on the main bourse
Buoyed by the success of Medicube and AGE-R, APR pursued an initial public offering (IPO). Considered a "big fish" in the market at the time, APR drew participation from about 2,000 institutions in book-building for institutional investors from Feb. 2–8, 2024, posting a competition ratio of 663 to 1. As a result, the offering price was set at 250,000 won, exceeding the top end of the desired band (147,000–200,000 won), and the post-listing market cap was valued at around 1.896 trillion won.
It was the first case at the time of a corporations less than 10 years old being listed on the main bourse. Through the listing, APR has been using the funds raised for expanding production facilities and for research and development of beauty devices.
◇In 2025, CEO Kim Byeong-hun declares "entry into bio"
Kim took the stage as a presenter at the "Amazon Beauty in Seoul 2025" event held at the COEX Grand Ballroom in Samseong-dong, Seoul, in September and said, "Medicube's ultimate goal is to overcome human aging. To that end, we have set a mid- to long-term goal of becoming the world's No. 1 'anti-aging' specialized company," adding, "If necessary to achieve the goal, I think we can move beyond the confines of the cosmetics field and into the bio realm."
APR plans to use its third campus in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, as a forward base for new businesses in bio and healthcare. It is establishing production systems for PDRN and PN, substances for tissue regeneration, and is proceeding with medical device item approval procedures. At the same time, it is conducting research and development to move beyond home-use beauty devices and enter the professional medical device market.