se. It is built around three services: Amore Bespoke, which allows customers to create made-to-order cosmetics on-site; City Lab, an AI-powered skin and scalp diagnostic zone; and Amore Beauty Lab, a programme that invites customers to participate in product testing and sensory research. Across a portfolio of around 30 brands and more than 1000 products, the store is being positioned as what the company calls a “living platform” for beauty. “While beauty retail in the past was primarily focused on product display and sales, we believe the future of retail lies in evolving into a platform where customers can engage with a brand’s philosophy, technologies, and research-driven services,” Amorepacific’s spokesperson told Inside Retail.  The Amore Bespoke service, the centrepiece of the relaunch, enables customers to create made-to-order products on-site, matched to their specific skin tone, hair condition and fragrance preferences. Products are labelled with the customer’s own name.  According to the company, the purpose is to represent a direct response to where consumer expectation in premium beauty has been trending for several years: away from a standardised product range and toward something that feels as though it was made for you specifically, because it was. “It is a ‘House of New Beauty’ designed to help customers discover beauty solutions that meet their individual needs, while making these experiences more accessible and enabling a broader audience to enjoy the satisfaction of finding what works best for them,” the person said.  Diagnostics as a differentiator As part of the relaunch, Amorepacific introduced City Lab, a skin and scalp diagnostic zone, to the flagship.  A customer who has been shown what their skin may look like in five years, and offered a product formulation tied to that prognosis, has a reason to come back. More importantly, they have a reason not to look elsewhere. That is a different kind of brand loyalty than can be built through an Instagram feed or a Sephora shelf. Meanwhile, Amore Beauty Lab frames its programme in the language of collaboration: customers are invited to participate in product testing, sensory studies, and interviews, with their input described as feeding into product development. This kind of consumer-facing R&D engagement is not unique to Amorepacific, but embedding it within a flagship retail space at this level of visibility is relatively uncommon. The financial backdrop  Amorepacific is not making this move out of distress. The group posted consolidated revenue of KRW 4.62 trillion (approximately US$3.18 billion) last year, with operating profit rising 47.6 per cent, its strongest profitability since 2019. Its leading subsidiary delivered 9.5 per cent revenue growth and a 52.3 per cent jump in operating profit, with overseas profitability more than doubling year-on-year. Amorepacific is explicit that Amore Yongsan is intended as a reference model for future international retail strategy. The store has been built with multilingual service, global payment systems, on-site tax refund capability, and country-specific product curation, suggesting that international visitors and the lessons drawn from serving them are part of the brief. “Online channels have made product discovery and purchasing more convenient, but the distinctive value of physical retail remains,” the spokesperson said.  “This is especially true in the beauty industry, where customers value the ability to test products in person, better understand their skin and its interaction with products, consult with experts, and personally engage with a brand’s sensibility and philosophy through all five senses.” Further reading: Korean beauty industry giant Amorepacific charts new course in global markets.