AmorePacific declares war on fakes

By Park Si-soo

Suh Kyung-bae AmorePacific Chairman

AmorePacific, the nation’s No.1 cosmetics maker, has declared war on counterfeit goods of its smash-hit multi-cushion foundation.

Tens of thousands of fake Hera UV Mist Cushions were found to have been sold at major shopping districts here and on online shopping malls, the company said Wednesday.

The prosecution has launched an investigation into the case, believing that unlawful organizations are linked with the mass circulation of the counterfeit products.

“We are fully cooperating with the prosecution to crack down on producers and distributors of fake goods,” said an AmorePacific spokeswoman. She said the company was first aware of fake Hera UV Mist Cushions being circulated in January, adding that it is the only affected product, at least for now.

“Nothing is yet confirmed, including the number of fake goods that have been released and who is responsible for this,” she said. “The fake goods have little difference in looks compared with genuine articles so it’s hard to distinguish them with the naked eye.”

She noted that customers can buy genuine Hera UV Mist Cushions at department stores, their online shopping malls, AmorePacific’s online shopping mall (www.amorepacificmall.com) and duty free stores. They can also buy the genuine Hera UV Mist Cushion through the firm’s official door-to-door salesmen, she said.

“There are many street cosmetics shops selling the product. These places are vulnerable to fake ones,” she said.

AmorePacific is running a call center (080-023-5454) to deal with customers’ questions regarding the issue.

Cushion refers to a make-up compact built with specially designed urethane foam that safety contains and preserves make-up liquid comprised of foundation, sunscreen and skincare formula.

Since 2008, the company has released various cushion-based products. They have taken the market by storm upon debuting for their convenience.

In June, AmorePacific formed a partnership with Christian Dior, under which the Seoul-based company shared cushion-related technology with the French cosmetics giant. AmorePacific believes the partnership will help with its global expansion.

The firm’s first-quarter sales reached 1.44 trillion won, up 26.7 percent year-on-year, with operating profit soaring 50 percent to 320.7 billion won.