"韓流"讓愛茉莉太平洋流行

AmorePacific, South Korea’s biggest cosmetics company by sales, is riding high on booming Chinese demand amid the huge popularity of Korean pop culture in the region.

在韓國流行文化在中國大受歡迎之際，中國對韓國產品的需求相當旺盛，韓國銷售額最高的化妝品公司愛茉莉太平洋(AmorePacific)正藉助這一有利趨勢繼續壯大。

The cosmetics maker has become investors’ favourite company, thanks to its rapid earnings growth and bright outlook, with its share price surging nearly 160 per cent to about Won2.3m over the past year.

該公司已成爲投資者青睞的企業，這源於其快速的盈利增長以及光明前景。過去一年，該公司股價飆升近160%，至230萬韓元左右。

The company’s overseas sales surged 38 per cent to Won382.7bn ($349m) in the first half of this year as it generates one-fifth of its revenue outside South Korea. Its full-year overseas sales are expected to reach Won700bn as growing interest in South Korean drama and music helps boost sales of its skin care products in China and other parts of Asia.

今年上半年，愛茉莉太平洋海外銷售額飆升38%，至3827億韓元（合3.49億美元），該公司五分之一的收入來自韓國以外。預計全年海外銷售額將達到7000億韓元，此際人們對韓國電視劇和音樂的興趣日益增強，這幫助提升了該公司護膚品在中國以及亞洲其他地區的銷售額。

Young Asian women, especially Chinese tourists, are flocking to Seoul to buy moisturising creams and foundations, with the help of ads featuring South Korean stars from the films, soap operas and music that have taken Asia by storm over the past decade.

年輕的亞洲女性（特別是中國遊客）正涌入首爾，購買保溼護膚霜和保溼粉底，韓國的電影、電視和音樂明星們拍攝的廣告對此推波助瀾，過去10年，韓國的這些產業猶如風暴一般席捲亞洲。

“The Korea Wave has certainly been helpful in raising our brand awareness in the region,” says Sean Kim, the company’s vice-president in charge of business strategy. “We aim to become the Asian beauty creator by answering Asian women’s strong needs for clean and bright skin.”

“‘韓流’肯定有助於提升我們在亞洲地區的品牌認知度，”愛茉莉太平洋負責商業戰略的副總裁Sean Kim表示，“我們的目標是成爲亞洲的美麗締造者，滿足亞洲女性對於乾淨明亮肌膚的強烈渴求。”

China lies at the heart of the company’s plans to increase international sales to half of its target sales of Won12tn by 2020. Its total revenues amounted to Won3.1tn last year. Despite its fast growth, AmorePacific is still finding its feet in China with just a 1.2 per cent share of the country’s beauty and personal care market, compared with Procter & Gamble’s 13.5 per cent and L’Oréal’s 9.1 per cent, according to market researcher Euromonitor International.

該公司計劃到2020年，將海外銷售額增至其12萬億韓元目標總銷售額的一半。中國居於這一計劃的中心。去年，該公司總收入達到3.1萬億韓元。根據市場研究機構歐睿國際(Euromonitor)的數據，儘管增長迅速，但愛茉莉太平洋僅佔據中國美容和個人護理市場1.2%的份額，而寶潔(Procter & Gamble)高達13.5%，歐萊雅(L’Oréal)佔9.1%。

“China is the biggest and most important market for us,” says Mr Kim, forecasting Chinese sales will jump more than 40 per cent a year to top Won3tn by 2020 from Won338.7bn last year.

Sean Kim表示：“對我們而言，中國是最大也是最重要的市場。”他預測，到2020年，該公司在華銷售額將每年增長40%以上，從去年的3387億韓元增至逾3萬億韓元。

The company is pinning high hopes on a new cosmetics factory and research centre in Shanghai, which will boost its annual production capacity by 10 times to 100m units, as it tries to wrest share from bigger western rivals such as P&G and L’Oréal.

該公司正對在上海新建的化妝品工廠以及研究中心寄予厚望，該中心將令每年的生產能力擴大10倍，至1億件。愛茉莉太平洋正試圖從寶潔和歐萊雅等規模較大的西方競爭對手手中搶奪市場份額。

While AmorePacific uses famous South Korean actors and actresses to promote its products, Mr Kim stresses that high quality is essential to ensure that Chinese consumers keep buying its products. The company, which has about 3,500 shops in China, is expanding its product line-up tailored toward Chinese customers such as ultra-hydrating creams, cleansing creams and collagen drinks to address their concern about pollution and dry weather.

儘管愛茉莉太平洋利用韓國著名演員來推銷其產品，但Sean Kim強調，高質量對於確保中國消費者繼續購買其產品至關重要。該公司在中國大約有3500家門店，正擴大針對中國消費者的產品系列，例如超級補水霜、洗面奶和膠原蛋白口服液，以解她們對於污染和乾燥天氣的擔憂。

Chinese sales are driven by mid-priced lotions and face creams under brand names such as Laneige and Innisfree, which highlight natural ingredients such as green tea from the scenic Jeju island. Yet its luxury cosmetics range, Sulwhasoo, based on traditional herbal medicines such as ginseng, is also gaining increasing popularity.

愛茉莉太平洋在華銷售額受到蘭芝(Laneige)和悅詩風吟(Innisfree)等品牌的中檔價位化妝水和麪霜的推動，這些產品強調天然成分，例如來自景色美麗的濟州島的綠茶。而該公司基於人蔘等傳統中草藥的高端化妝品系列雪花秀(Sulwhasoo)，也正受到越來越多消費者的歡迎。

“While emotional communication is effective for Korean consumers, Chinese women often ask for more scientific functions such as whitening and anti-ageing,” says Mr Kim.

Sean Kim表示：“儘管情感溝通對韓國消費者有效，但中國女性經常會要求更多科技功效，例如美白和抗衰老。”

About half of the company’s overseas sales come from China but the company products such as whitening creams and “air cushion” foundations soaked in a sponge are also popular in southeast Asia. Mr Kim says however that the company must expand further into western markets to achieve its long-term vision of joining the top five global brands by 2020 as well as becoming the number one cosmetics company in Asia.

該公司海外銷售額的一半左右來自中國，但美白霜和浸入海綿之中的“氣墊”粉底在東南亞也很受歡迎。然而Sean Kim表示，該公司必須進一步向西方市場擴張，以實現到2020年躋身全球5大品牌的長期目標，同時成爲亞洲頭號化妝品公司。

Its Lolita Lempicka perfume was once one of France’s top five-selling fragrances although sales in the French market have stagnated in recent years. The company is now trying to revive momentum in France after acquiring premium perfume brand Annick Goutal in 2011. In the US, the company is also trying to position itself as a high-end niche player, focusing on premium brands such as Sulwhasoo.

該公司的洛儷塔(Lolita Lempicka)香水曾經是法國最熱銷的5款香水之一，但最近幾年，這款產品在法國市場的銷售額陷於停滯。在2011年收購高端香水品牌Annick Goutal之後，該公司正努力在法國恢復往日神采。在美國，該公司也正努力將自己定位爲高端利基品牌，專注雪花秀等高端品牌。

“Asia is still our main market but we will have to go beyond the region eventually to become a truly global company,” says Mr Kim. “It will probably be an uphill battle, given our low brand recognition in western markets. However, we see an optimistic sign in westerners’ growing interest in Asian beauty.”

“亞洲仍是我們的主要市場，但我們必須將目光放遠，最終成爲一家真正的國際性企業，”Sean Kim表示，“鑑於我們在西方的品牌認知度較低，這可能會是一場硬仗。但西方人對亞洲美的興趣正日益增強，我們從中看到了樂觀跡象。”