A growing Chinese economy and an avid interest in beauty products impacted the South Korean cosmetics industry in 2016, boosting a rise in exports by more than 40% in 2016.
 
According to the Korea International Trade Association, exports of skin care and makeup products reached close to $4 billion last year, a rise of more than 44% over the previous year’s sales. The number was reported to have doubled from the 2014 figure of $1.79 billion. Among the export countries, China accounted for 36.5% with $1.45 billion.
 
LG Household & Health Care Ltd. recorded the best performance in 2016 due to strong growth in the cosmetics sector. Sales reached 6.9 trillion won; operating profits, 880 billion won; and net profits 579 billion won; up by 14.4%, 28.8% and 23.1%, respectively, over the previous year. Cosmetics sales reached 3.1 trillion won. The company said it plans to increase its number of stores in China and expand in the Southeast Asian market.