China dubbed a 'liability' as brands like Amorepacific see loss over yuan devaluation

In recent times, Amorepacific reps attributed the brand's success to sales of cosmetics at home and abroad, backed by the arrival of more foreign tourists, mostly Chinese, who shop at duty-free shops.

The company also noted China as being a 'pivotal' market in accomplishing its '2020' vision.

However, Bloomberg reports that as of early August; China, which absorbs 25 per cent of South Korean exports, is heading for its weakest economic expansion in 25 years.

This will not come as good news to AmorePacific's chief technology officer, Hak Hee Kang who said back in March that the brand was "aiming to grow its footprint in the China market by expanding its dedicated retail presence in tier one and some tier two cities".​

“We want to have standalone stores throughout China. Until now we have had more of a presence in department stores in the country, but if we have our own dedicated stores this means we will have more power and be able to control the brands better,”​ said Kang.

AmorePacific plans to be the biggest cosmetics company in Asia by 2020​

AmorePacific has got big goals in mind for its business in Asia by 2020.

This includes a significant expansion programme that aims to make it the biggest cosmetics player on the region and indeed, one of the biggest globally, according to Kang.

Speaking to CosmeticsDesign-Asia.com at the sidelines of the Cosme Tokyo 2014 event, Kang explained how the South Korea-based company is enjoying a wave of popularity throughout the APAC region that is putting the company in a stronger position.

“Most of this growth will be naturally derived from overseas trade, and in particular from China. This means that exports should rise from the current rate of approximately 20% to about 50% by the year 2020,” ​he revealed at the time.