PHOTOS K-beauty reaches Europe: Nature Republic opens stores in Italy

Welcome Nature Republic: Coin Department Store celebrates Nature Republic's store opening on its website.

• Published Nov 30, 2018 7:35 AM KST
• Updated Nov 30, 2018 2:19 PM KST

By Park Si-soo

Nature Republic has opened four pop-up stores in Italy, making it the first Korean cosmetics brand to enter the beauty/fashion-sensitive European country.

The stores are in the Coin Department Store in Rome, Milan, Turin and Bari. Coin is Italy's biggest department store chain. For Nature Republic to get into the network means that the Italian retail giant has recognized the quality of the company's products and its growth potential in Italy.

Italy is Nature Republic's 19th overseas market where it runs stores, after the United States, China, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, just to name a few. Officials said the company is committed to expanding its overseas business continuously.

“We spent two years preparing for the European market,” a Nature Republic official said. “Italians are known to have high loyalty to their own culture and products. Also, the competition is very intense in the cosmetic industry as global brands are jockeying for position in Italy, which is considered one of the major trend-setters in the European beauty market. So it took time for us to study the market and customers thoroughly.”

Nature Republic has so far cleared 80 products through the European Union's strict pre-sale quality/safety checks and registered them at the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP), an online notification system created for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products. When a product has been notified under the CPNP, there is no need for any further notification at a national level within the EU.

The registered items include the company's signature products such as Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream, Soothing & Moisture Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel, Super Aqua Max Watery Cream and Real Nature Hydrogel Mask.

“We are trying to get more products registered in the CPNP,” the official said.

Coin Department Store has expressed high expectations for Nature Republic.

The retailer welcomed Nature Republic by flashing out its logo and products on its

website

's front page under the title “NATURE REPUBLIC ARRIVA IN ITALIA.”

Nature Republic recently invited local media and VIPs to the Turin store and received positive feedback.

“I have caught up with K-beauty with big interest by watching YouTube channels about Korean cosmetic products,” said Carolina, 39, an Italian customer. “I was surprised when I first saw a Nature Republic store in Italy. I was able to apply products that I saw on YouTube and then was surprised again by their quality, which never falls behind that of other global brands.”

Another customer, Alessandra, 35, echoed the view.

“I've heard Nature Republic is a marquee K-beauty brand,” she said. “So when I heard that it had opened stores in Italy, my first thought was 'I should go there.' I tried some of the products on display and could understand why its products are beloved internationally.”

Alessandra said Soothing & Moisture Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel and Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream are her “can't-miss” products.

Nature Republic will appeal to Italian customers with localized marketing campaigns. In the first step, it recently opened an Italian website offering information about the brand's philosophy and products.

“The Italian stores' opening will play an important role in promoting K-beauty in Europe,” a Nature Republic official said. “We are posting a good performance in the overseas markets we are in and are trying to improve performance by diversifying business.”