3CE Stylenanda, an indigenous Korean fashion and cosmetics company acquired by French luxury cosmetics group L'Oréal in 2018, has managed to hold on to its position as the No. 1 K-Beauty makeup brand in China and Southeast Asia even during the dark days when the cosmetics market was hit hard by COVID-19. The reason why the brand's value was able to remain unshakable was the consensus among all employees that they should learn local marketing know-how from global companies, but absolutely protect 3CE Stylenanda's creativity and unique DNA. The first four years after the acquisition were more about preservation than change. Efforts were made to inherit the creative organizational culture, including new product planning sequences that rejected industry practices and reverse thinking that went against the market. Furthermore, efforts were made to capitalize on existing strengths such as the identity of 'Fast and Trendy K-Beauty' and 'Color Cosmetics Masterpiece', 100% digital natives from content creation to distribution, and ‘Retailtainmment’ utilizing offline Flagship stores.
The acquisition of Stylenanda, a Korean fashion and cosmetics company, by French cosmetics giant L'Oréal Group in 2018 was a major event that made the industry buzz. It is also remarkable that the Dongdaemun-version online shopping mall, which generated only 10 million won in monthly sales, became a company with annual sales of 200 billion won, led by its cosmetics brand 3 Concept Eyes (3CE), which was launched in 2009, and the sale of 100 percent of its shares to a global company signaled the status of K-Beauty around the world. With this M&A, Kim Sohee, who founded and nurtured Stylenanda in her early 20s, became a legend of Dongdaemun fashion entrepreneurship, and 3CE also became L'Oréal's first indigenous Korean brand, establishing itself as a representative success story of K-Beauty.
However, the four years since the high-profile M&A have not been easy for 3CE Stylenanda. As face masks became mandatory due to COVID-19 and the color cosmetics market took a hit, 3CE, nicknamed the "color cosmetics masterpiece," had to fend off customer churn and declining sales. It also had to allay fears that its unique brand identity would be diluted in the process of parting ways with its founder. In addition, the company faced the challenge of playing catch-up in the Chinese market, where L'Oréal Group is a major player, due to the rise of new Chinese cosmetics brands targeting Gen MZ.
This content was translated into English by AI (using DeepL) from an article that was originally written in Korean in the DBR (Donga Business Review). Therefore, please understand that there may be some awkward expressions.
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