Imported cosmetics twice as expensive in Korea

An official from the Customers Union of Korea announces the results of a survey on prices of 65 foreign cosmetics brands sold in Korea compared to other countries in a press meeting held at the Fair Trade Commission in Sejong City near Daejeon, Monday. The results show foreign cosmetics are being sold at prices nearly 2.5 times higher than the average price in five countries — the U.S., UK, Germany, France and Japan. / Yonhap

By Yoon Ja-young

Some imported cosmetics are sold at twice the price in Korea than they are in other countries, a consumer group report showed Monday.

Consumers Union of Korea, a leading consumer group in the country, compared consumer prices of 54 cosmetics in six countries ― the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Korea.

It turned out that all 54 are sold at higher prices in Korea than they are in the other countries.

High-end cosmetics sold at local department stores are priced on average 1.02 to 1.56 times more than they are overseas. A 200 milliliter pack of Biotherm Homme Foam shaver, for instance, sells for 36,000 won at department stores in Korea, but its price overseas averaged 23,089 won. A 150 milliliter pack of L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream, which costs 35,000 won here, is sold for 29,021 won overseas.

Contrary to the common belief that products sold at drugstores are reasonably priced, the country’s drugstores turned out to be selling the same cosmetics at prices 1.11 to 2.46 times more expensive than in foreign countries. A 100-milliliter-pack of La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume, for instance sells for 29,904 won here, which compares with 12,158 won overseas. Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream in a 17 gram pack, is priced at 19,794 won in Korea, more than double the 8,951 won price tag abroad.

Kang Jung-hwa, secretary general of the consumer group, said the higher prices are due to a lack of competition in the sales channel. “In the case of cosmetics, consumers have limited options as there aren’t a variety of sales channels,” she said.

The local cosmetics market has been growing despite the economic slowdown thanks to expansion of the consumer base, with diverse age groups and men also buying products. The consumer group noted that consumers are willing to spend more for the products they value.

In its survey of 308 women, 39.9 percent said they buy cosmetics every three months, while 39.6 percent say they buy cosmetics more often ― at least once a month. When asked how they look at price and quality of the cosmetics, 41.2 percent say that different brands of cosmetics seem to have similar qualities regardless of price. 29.9 percent, however, believe the more expensive, the better the quality. The survey also showed that four out of 10 consumers are willing to buy expensive imported cosmetics if they perceive them to be of better quality than other cosmetics.

“To enable consumers to make rational choices, the sales channels should be diversified to encourage competition,” Kang said.