[Exclusive] Handsome effectively winds down its in-house beauty brand Oera, five years after launch

[Financial News] Handsome has begun the process of shutting down its luxury cosmetics brand Oera. Last month, it effectively disbanded the dedicated Oera team and left only a minimal staff in place. It also pulled the brand from The Hyundai Seoul and The Hyundai Daegu. The move is being interpreted as a setback for the company’s first non-fashion business, launched to diversify its fashion-centered portfolio, just five years after Oera’s debut following Handsome’s founding in 1987.
According to industry sources on the 26th, Handsome scaled back the organization in July by splitting up the Oera team and keeping only a small number of employees. Its offline retail network was also reduced. Operations at The Hyundai Daegu ended in April, and the store at The Hyundai Seoul closed in June. Oera is a luxury skincare brand launched by Handsome in 2021. To enter the cosmetics business, Handsome acquired a 51% stake in Cleangen Cosmeceutical, a functional cosmetics company, for about 10 billion won in 2020. The company later changed its name to Handsome Life &. It was Handsome’s first expansion beyond fashion since its founding in 1987.
Handsome targeted the ultra-premium cosmetics market with products priced at up to 1 million won, but it failed to achieve clear results in terms of brand awareness or profitability.
Handsome’s move stands in contrast to rival fashion companies that are growing beauty into a new source of revenue. Shinsegae International posted record cosmetics sales of 129.5 billion won in the second quarter of this year, helping improve overall earnings. Over the same period, consolidated sales rose 15.1%, and operating profit turned positive. LF also said domestic sales of its vegan beauty brand ATHE more than doubled in the first half, while overseas sales increased 2.3 times. Handsome’s sales rose in the second quarter, but operating profit fell short of market expectations. In effect, the company has now abandoned even the in-house beauty brand it launched to offset weak profitability in its core fashion business.
Fashion industry observers say Oera’s high price point was not sufficiently supported by brand power. An industry official said, "Luxury cosmetics cannot rely on a high price alone. The brand must justify that price, but Oera’s positioning was somewhat ambiguous."
A Handsome official said, "Oera still has a related organization in place," adding, "The stores at The Hyundai Daegu and The Hyundai Seoul were closed due to weak sales and as part of efforts to improve efficiency in the beauty business." The official added, "Instead of adjusting offline stores, we are diversifying sales channels through home shopping and online malls." Meanwhile, Handsome separately operates imported and curated beauty businesses such as Fueguia 1833 and Liquid Perfume Bar alongside Oera.
[email protected] Lee Jeong-hwa Reporter