Valentino Beauty, the beauty line of Italian luxury brand Valentino, is pulling out of the Korean market. It comes about four years after its official domestic launch in 2022.
According to the industry on the 7th, L'Oréal Korea, which runs Valentino Beauty in Korea, recently decided to end operations of Valentino Beauty's offline stores in Korea. Department store locations have closed, and the official online mall is said to be scheduled to end within the first half of this year.
Valentino Beauty made its debut in the Korean market in Mar. 2022 with a pop-up store (temporary shop) in Hannam-dong, Seoul. With stylish packaging fronted by the brand's signature bold red and pink colors, products such as "Go Cushion" and "Rosso Valentino Lipstick" sparked a desire to own among consumers at launch and gained popularity. It then opened official stores at Lotte Department Store's Jamsil branch and main branch, drawing attention as an emerging force in the domestic luxury beauty market.
However, unlike the aggressive initial push, the actual expansion of its distribution network struggled. It is interpreted as having had difficulty securing sustained growth drivers in the Korean market dominated by traditional luxury beauty brands such as Chanel, Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent.
In fact, Chanel, Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent Beauty are all present in the three major department store chains—Lotte, Shinsegae, and Hyundai—while Valentino Beauty had operated offline stores only at Lotte Department Store. Department store distribution serves not just as a sales channel but as a yardstick for brand credibility and the potential for long-term operations.
An industry official said, "Amid intensifying competition among overseas luxury beauty brands, Valentino Beauty appears to have fallen short of expectations," adding, "As a result, it failed to further expand offline distribution and is proceeding with a withdrawal."
On top of that, K-beauty brands touting value for money and efficacy have seized the market, further narrowing the foothold of foreign luxury brands. As K-beauty brands roll out product performance and stylish packaging rivaling luxury labels, the competitiveness of higher-priced luxury beauty has weakened.
Indeed, over the past one to two years, major overseas brands such as Fresh from the LVMH group, L'Oréal's Shu Uemura, and Maybelline New York have one after another exited the Korean market. Failure to adequately respond to domestic trends that prioritize practical consumption over pricey logo marketing is also cited as a reason for withdrawal.
In addition, as consumption contracted due to the economic downturn and the polarization of brand preferences among luxury consumers deepened, it is seen as a strategic choice by the L'Oréal group to trim low-efficiency brands and focus on its core portfolio.
A beauty industry official said, "The era when the name of luxury alone could guarantee success in the Korean market is over," adding, "It appears that, at the L'Oréal group level, a strategic choice has been made to trim low-efficiency brands and focus on the core portfolio."