Amorepacific, LG H&H streamline portfolios amid rise of indie K-beauty brands

Major beauty firms Amorepacific and LG H&H are downsizing their nonbeauty sectors to sharpen their focus on cosmetics as smaller rivals gain ground in the global beauty market.

The two companies have led Korea's beauty industry since the 1980s.

Their business overhaul underscores how K-beauty's global rise is no longer defined by a handful of conglomerates, but rather by a growing number of smaller companies with competitive brands.

Amorepacific, whose key brands include Sulwhasoo, Laneige, Cosrx, Hera and Aestura, is seeking a buyer for its health supplement manufacturing plant in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province.

The company has appointed a lead manager to oversee the bidding process.

The plant was built in 1989 by Pacific Pharmaceutical, which changed its name to Aestura in 2015.

It became part of Amorepacific in 2021 after the company acquired Aestura and converted the facility into a health supplement production hub.

Since then, however, the plant has struggled with weak utilization, with its operating rate falling to just 46 percent last year.

Production totaled 31 billion won ($21 mill ...