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| Amorepacific Group President Lee Dong-soon speaks during the company's regular general meeting of shareholders at the company's headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Amorepacific Group |
By Kim Jae-heun
Amorepacific Group President Lee Dong-soon pledged to pioneer new markets in ASEAN countries, the United States and Europe while reducing its heavy reliance on China during a shareholders' meeting at company headquarters in Seoul, Friday.
"We will achieve a turnaround by finding new businesses and markets based on the company's vision and strategy that reflect the changing of the times," Lee said. "Last year, we faced continued business difficulties affected by high interest rates and rising living costs as well as the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in an insufficient financial performance.
Amorepacific Group's 2022 sales and operating profit showed 4.49 trillion won ($3.44 billion) and 271.9 billion won, respectively, down 15.6 percent and 23.7 percent, year-on-year.
Its flagship subsidiary Amorepacific also saw its revenue fall 15 percent last year from the previous year to show 4.13 trillion won, and its operating profit plunged 37.6 percent to mark 214.2 billion won in the same period.
"Since the establishment of the company in 1945, Amorepacific Group achieved record-high sales of about 6 trillion won once, but due to external factors the company had to go through hardships. We also lacked in some parts because we heavily depended on our business in China and we plan to reduce it as well as that in the duty free sector," the president said.
However, Lee emphasized that, apart from China, the company's sales in Asia are still growing and promised to pioneer new markets in the region.
"Even now, the company's sales in the United States and Europe are on the rise and its sales in Asia, except China, are growing by 20 percent," Lee said. "We will continue to pioneer new markets in Asia."
