APR expands US retail presence as Medicube hits Costco shelves
Medicube's Zero Pore Pad / Courtesy of APR
Korean beauty company APR said Monday that its flagship skin care brand, Medicube, is now sold in about 400 Costco stores in the United States. The move expands the brand’s presence in physical stores in North America.
Medicube products went on sale at Costco’s U.S. stores this month, and the company plans to expand to all of the warehouse club’s U.S. locations. This month it also finished rolling out to every Costco store in Korea. It plans to enter Costco in Canada and Europe as well.
For the launch, APR made a Costco-only package of its Zero Pore Pad, one of Medicube’s best-selling products. The company said the toner pad has ranked first in Amazon’s U.S. facial toners and astringents category since February 2025. APR plans to add products from its popular PDRN line to its Costco lineup. The line features an ingredient made from salmon DNA.
The Costco deal is the latest in a series of U.S. retail expansions. Medicube entered about 1,400 Ulta Beauty stores in August last year, more than 1,500 Target stores in April and about 3,000 Walmart stores in June. It is also set to enter about 3,000 CVS Pharmacy stores by the end of this year.
APR said it also plans to expand into regional retail chains, based on local consumer demand.
Besides major retailers, the company sells through online channels such as Amazon and TikTok Shop. It adjusts its products and sales strategy for each channel.
APR’s North American sales reached 647.9 billion won in the first half of this year, up more than 260 percent from a year earlier. The company said its sales in the region have grown about 30-fold in roughly five years since 2021.
“Entering Costco will broaden consumers’ access to Medicube and help us continue expanding our sales base in major retail channels,” an APR official said.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.