Etude House quits physical retail in SG to focus on eCommerce

Korean beauty brand Etude House is shutting its last physical store in Singapore at Bugis Junction today and will pivot online. Its products will continue to be available in Singapore via its website and eCommerce platforms such as Lazada and Shopee. The beauty brand also offered a promotional code to its customers, thanking them for the continuous support they have given to the brand. 

Etude House entered Singapore in 2009 and opened its flagship outlet at Wisma Atria in 2014. The store was then relaunched in 2018 with features such as a customisable lipstick factory. It also opened a flagship store at Sunway Pyramid in 2017. A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE found that the outlet at Sunway Pyramid is permanently closed. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Etude House for additional information about its online direction.  

Owned by AmorePacific, the beauty brand has reportedly been making losses for the past few years, according to The Korea Times. Last year, the brand's total equity stood at minus KRW 6.6 billion after its total liabilities of KRW 56.6 billion exceeded its total assets of KRW 49.9 billion. Furthermore, it faced consecutive asset impairment losses in both 2019 and 2020. Backed with the cumulative net losses it has been incurring over the past years and the costs of restructuring road shops, the brand has suffered capital impairment, The Korea Times said.

The beauty brand also closed all physical locations in China last year after seven years, Global Times reported. Similarly, the products are now available online via platforms such as Tmall, WeChat, and Little Red Book. Separately, it was also reported in January that Innisfree, another beauty brand under AmorePacific, is shutting 80% of its physical stores in China. Global Times added that the brand is cutting reducing its number of stores from 800 to 140.

Etude House follows in the footsteps of brands including Crabtree & Evelyn, Robinsons, and Sasa. In 2019, Crabtree & Evelyn closed its brick-and-mortar stores globally and relaunched in Singapore online, along with new product ranges and packaging. Crabtree & Evelyn CEO David Stern told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE previously that the brand failed to evolve with the times.

That same year, cosmetics retailer Sasa International closed all 22 retail stores in Singapore and shifted focus to core markets including Malaysia, Hong Kong and mainland China, as well as its eCommerce business. Department store Robinsons also closed its brick-and-mortar outlets in Singapore and relaunched online last year.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

Related articles:
Etude House creates 12-part fanfiction to romanticise new eye palette
Etude House taps popular Malaysian personalities to give brand a human touch
ETUDE House MY partners Hershey's for chocolate-inspired makeup collection
ETUDE House celebrates 100k Instagram followers with enamel pins