[INTERVIEW] Turning favorite pursuit, K-beauty, into business

Charlotte Cho, co-founder of the U.S.-based retailer Soko Glam / Courtesy of Soko Glam

By Kim Ji-soo

Charlotte Cho, the co-founder and chief curator of the U.S.-based retailer Soko Glam, has carved out a big niche for Korean cosmetics and beauty products in the U.S. market.

Cho, 31, co-founded Soko Glam with her husband David Cho in 2012, turning a favorite pursuit, K-beauty, into a spurring business.

"I loved Korean beauty products, and the timing was right," she said.

Starting out as an online retail site, Soko Glam just recently opened an offline shop, Soko Glam mini store at Bloomingdale's in Soho, Manhattan. The company's The Klog, its Korean beauty and skincare content site, is well-loved for providing information about Korean beauty products.

Last week, the cofounder, author and aesthetician was in Seoul with two American editors to show them the Korean beauty and medical tourism scene.

Usually, she travels to Korea six to seven times a year, scouring for innovative Korean products she will curate. Cho said K-beauty is regarded as truly innovative in the United States, where it is actively benchmarked by big cosmetics leaders.

"The beauty industry is trending toward K-beauty, and even in the United States, (people ask), ‘how do you make this an experience?' Everything is going online; if you're going to have a retail space, how are you going to make it an experience?" Cho said. "Korean brands are doing this well."

Brands like Skin Food and Etude House, which are carried by Soko Glam, lead in this "experience-providing" retail space, which is predominant in Garosu-gil in southern Seoul. Soko Glam recently introduced Etude House products, whose concept store Color Factory in Seoul allows consumers to really experience the brand.

"For example, Skin Food has a concept store in Garosu-gil, which looks like a farmer's market. It makes you feel like the ingredients are fresh, like 'yuza' in my skincare. On the second floor is a cafe where they have yuza tea," she said.

She said more and more customers are not merely looking to buy products on the shelves but also asking questions, such as "What is the brand about?" "How does this make me feel?" "How is it customized and personalized for me?"

Such whole experience is becoming important to retail, and U.S. companies are seeing that, she said. She sees K-beauty is thriving in the U.S. market, where she forecasts demand for Korean makeup and skincare products.

"Social media has greatly helped Korean companies become noticed," she said.

"In the mindset of U.S. consumers, they are convinced Korean cosmetics are higher quality. They have better formulation, and they think outside the box."

She, however, pointed out the telling the brand story through discounting policy by some K-beauty companies may "drive their brands to the ground" instead of conveying what the products are capable of.

As the pressure for K-beauty companies to diversify into markets other than China builds, the author sees her book, "The Little Book of Skin Care," sell well in such countries as in Spain, Poland and Vietnam, which attests to how those markets are primed for K-beauty.

Cho, who was born in the United States, said K-beauty is regarded for the first time as a "leading" rather than "leapfrogging" industry. "But if you think about it, Koreans are entrepreneurial, like my parents, who emigrated to the U.S. and who own a liquor store," she said.

In Cho's case, K-beauty was a discovery, a favorite pursuit found while working at Samsung Engineering from 2008 to 2012. She graduated from the University of California, Irvine, in just three years, because she wanted to get out of the suburbs.

She said she loves the hustle and bustle of the city. Soko Glam is based in New York and has an office in Seoul.

Cho and her husband, David, who is the company's cofounder and CEO, has seen their company rise to 25 employees, doubling from the previous year. They are looking to re-double the number by the end of this year. The company did not disclose its sales, but since stabilizing in mid-2013, they have seen profits grow threefold in recent years.

What about the rise of beauty products made with natural ingredients? Can K-beauty products remain competitive?

"There is a realistic side to K-beauty (that consumers appreciate)," she said. More importantly, Cho said consumers should think about what penetrates their skin better and what is actually formulated better for their skin.

What do she and her husband look for in recruiting team members?

"They have to have passion for K-beauty, passion for startup culture, have a can-do attitude and be able to wear many hats," she said.

During her years leading the company, Cho realized business leadership requires flexibility and open-mindedness.

"I see it is all about flexibility, empathy and understanding people and where they come from," she said. Cho said she shares the values of another female business leader, Kwon Keum-joo, CEO of Etude House, who has turned around the three top brands of Innisfree, La Neige and Etude House.

As for the future, there are so many possibilities, perhaps like her own beauty and cosmetics line. She has collaborated with Korean companies on vitamin C serums with COSRX, cleansing sticks with Neogen and a facial mask.

"There is so much to accomplish that it is hard to look ahead," she said.

"But we want to make sure that through content and education, we build a strong community where women can feel there are only good skin days ahead. That is a confidence booster," she said.

"Everything moving forward is about having a genuine relationship with consumers."