Missha opens stores in Spain

By Park Si-soo

Missha, a low-priced cosmetics brand, has opened its three flagship stores in Spain, the company said Tuesday. They are located in Barcelona, Sevilla and Madrid.

Spain is the second European country with the firm’s stores, after Germany where the company opened its first in Ingolstadt in February.

Spain is the fifth biggest cosmetics market in Europe estimated at 6.4 billion euros or 8.2 trillion won as of 2014, according to data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

The demand for Korean cosmetics is growing rapidly in Spain. Imports of Korean cosmetics jumped to 2.61 million euros in 2014 from 250,000 euros in 2010, KOTRA said.

“Missha made a successful debut in Germany and will repeat that success in Spain,” said Lee Kwang-sup, a Missha manager dealing with international trade. “We will attract Spanish customers with high-quality products that are available at reasonable prices.”

The company plans to open new stores in Berlin and Munich within this year.

Missha runs roughly 2,100 outlets in 30 countries, including the United States, China, Japan, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Venezuela.