How much more popular can Korean lover boys get?
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reportedly made a personal purchase of a snail cream (Intense Care Live Snail) from Tonymoly.
She has been telling friends that the product is better than any other more pricey cosmetics. She was already up to her third purchase.
At the Tonymoly store at the Peak Tower in Victoria Park in Hong Kong, perhaps the most popular sightseeing location in the island state (now part of mainland China), Korean songs flow out endlessly.
What is interesting about this phenomenon is that Tonymoly is a Korean brand.
“Most young Hong Kong women used to buy Western imported cosmetics but they are taking to Korean products, mainly because of their interest in K-pop, idol stars and Korean culture,” said one company worker.
The “one-brand” concept, where a shop sells a single brand, has been spreading in Korea and Hong Kong has emerged as a test market prior to a major penetration of China which is the world’s largest cosmetics market.
Already, Amorepacific, the largest cosmetics company in Korea, moved into the Hong Kong market in 2002 with high-end products and currently operates some 20 shops in major department stores.