Drug group to create beauty line

Pharmaceutical company Boryung Group said yesterday that it plans to use its medical experience to enter the cosmetics business.

The new company, Boryung Soo&Soo, began its operations last month. At a press conference in Seoul yesterday, Lee In-young, chief executive director, said the company will create a new cosmetics line that focuses less on the latest colors and more on the clinical effects.

“We see cosmetics more in line with health, which is why we also have a nutrient food supplement business,” Mr. Lee said. “We are not going to make any color cosmetics like eye shadow or lipstick ― these areas are too sensitive to trends, and we can’t compete. We are only going to make basic cosmetics like lotions and creams that have specific functions, such as anti-aging.”

He also said the company hopes to break into the already highly competitive cosmetics market by taking a different approach to customers, using door-to-door sales.

“The history of door-to-door sales goes back a long way. It is also a way of customizing products, according to the customer’s taste,” Mr. Lee said.

He added that the company does not have any plans to set up outlets and that salespersons will all be direct employees of the company instead of part of a pyramid-style sales system.

by Lee Chul-jae, Wohn Dong-hee