Market Kurly greets 20,000 visitors with first offline cosmetics trade show

Market Kurly held its first offline cosmetics trade show since launching its beauty business, hosting over 90 brands from Oct. 10 to 13.

E-commerce platform Market Kurly held its first offline cosmetics trade show at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13. [KIM JU-YEON]

Loud music blasted at the purple and black entrance decorated like a runway. Excited visitors clutched their goodie tote bags as they entered the Kurly Beauty Festa, e-commerce platform Market Kurly’s first offline cosmetics trade show since launching its Beauty Kurly business in late 2022.

Around 20,000 visitors are expected to have visited the event over its four days from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13 at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in central Seoul. Early bird tickets for the event immediately sold out on release.

Over 90 brands set up shop in either the “Prestige Hall” for high-end and global brands like Lancôme, Bobbi Brown and Sulhwasoo, or the “Innovation Hall,” meant to showcase cosmetics as well as dietary supplement brands’ innovation in technology and design.

A beautician demonstrates tips for hair styling and care at French luxury brand Balmain's booth at the Kurly Beauty Festa on Oct. 10. [KIM JU-YEON]

Beauticians at the booths shared and demonstrated their tips for makeup and hair care, while others handed out samples of their products through raffles and social media promotion events.

“I knew Market Kurly sold cosmetics, but I mostly knew it for its groceries," Adelina Erofeeva, a 25-year-old who described herself as someone very interested in makeup, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

"I would say Olive Young is more well known among foreigners,” she added. She had heard about the event from a friend and came to look at the different brands.

As indicated by Erofeeva’s comments, Beauty Kurly faces stiff competition in the industry. Coupang, Naver and Olive Young led in online cosmetics sales as of 2023, according to market research by Kantar Worldpanel. Olive Young, the market leader in the offline beauty retail market with a 70 percent share, also has an online global marketplace for overseas customers.

Nevertheless, Beauty Kurly has found a niche in the market with the same strategy for its groceries — promising next-day delivery for all orders placed before 11 p.m. Around 10 percent of Market Kurly's sales came from the cosmetics and health product business as of June.

One of Kurly’s strategies to differentiate itself in the market is through highlighting its high-end cosmetics that are typically sold at department stores, unlike the smaller indie brands sold at its rival marketplaces. This aims to appeal to its main customer base comprised of people in their 30s and 40s who have high purchasing power.

A visitor takes a photo in front of a large cushion foundation display at Estée Lauder's booth in the Beauty Kurly Festa on Oct. 10. [KIM JU-YEON]

The company is also holding offline events, like the Kurly Beauty Festa, to promote itself. The strategy was proven effective by rivals like Musinsa, which recorded a 5.8-time increase in sales on year during the three weeks it held its Musinsa Beauty Festa. Musinsa's event started with a three-day offline trade show in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, and continued online.

“I became aware of the Kurly Beauty Festa because I came to a similar event for food hosted by Market Kurly at the DDP before,” Kim Jeong-hyeon, 32, told the JoongAng Daily while in line at skincare brand d’Alba’s booth.

“I think it’s a good opportunity to try out small sample sizes of the products before buying the full-size ones,” she said, adding that she would definitely consider buying the same products on Market Kurly’s website with the linked promotional offers they provided.

Global brands like Kiehl's, which have an offline presence through branches in department stores, are using their online shop on Kurly for the opposite reason.

“We’re hoping to make our brand more accessible to a younger audience beyond the customers in who come to department stores,” a spokesperson for Kiehl’s said at the event.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]