Etude House, a Korean beauty brand that sells Korean beauty products, will close its last Singapore branch at Bugis Junction in February.
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Owned by conglomerate Amorepacific — which houses other Korean beauty brands like Innisfree and Sulwhasoo — Etude House will continue to be available in Singapore online via its websiteE-commerce platforms and other information Shopee, Lazada Zalora.
Etude House members won’t be able redeem their ETUDE Sweet Points following the closure of the store, according to an announcement posted on its website.
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Etude House, which had been in operation for seven years, also closed its China locations last March.
According to some reports, the brand has been making losses for the past five yearsThe net equity of the company was minus 66 Billion won (S$74 MILLION) in March 2013.
Ride the K-beauty wave in Singapore
Image credit: Ena Teo
Etude House, a Korean beauty brand that sells makeup and skincare products, was founded in 1995. It is known for its pink castle-like exterior.
It first opened in Singapore in 2009 and was able to open 16 outlets across the island. It had 525 Etude House stores in Korea and 232 international shops open in 2016.
It made waves in 2014 with the opening of its flagship outlet at Wisma Atria. This was then its largest store worldwide. In 2018, the flagship outlet was relaunched, with a customisable lipstick factory.
It also began selling its products on Shopee Mall that year. Business of FashionAccording to reports, “its gross merchandise volume grew over 13-fold and its regional e-commerce business doubled by 2020”.
Amorepacific, its parent company, also signed a deal in May 2019. Memorandum of Understanding with e-commerce giant Lazada to sell its brands — including Etude House — online in Southeast Asia.
Fast forward to today and Etude House is now the only brand under Amorepacific facing capital impairment.
Feature Image Credit: SG Magazine