Recently, the stock price of d’Alba Global, an indie cosmetics company that listed on the Korea Securities Market, has been rising daily, surpassing twice the offering price. Market expectations for BENOW, which is ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) next year, are also increasing.
In particular, CJ OnStyle recently made an equity investment in BENOW and announced collaboration in product distribution. The OnStyle side is hoping for synergy following the IPO of BENOW due to brand expansion.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 27th, d’Alba Global closed at 144,300 won, up 1.98% from the previous trading day. This is a figure that represents a 117.6% increase compared to the offering price (66,300 won). The stock price of d’Alba Global recorded an increase of 66.06%, closing at 110,100 won on the first day of its KOSPI entry on the 22nd, rising for four consecutive trading days until now.
The background of the rising stock price is due to expectations for overseas growth. d’Alba Global plans to use the funds secured through this IPO to expand offline distribution channels in major global markets, including Japan, North America, and Europe. At the same time, the company announced its intention to enter the China, ASEAN, Middle East, and Indian markets.
Park Eun-jeong, a researcher at Hana Securities, presented a target stock price for d’Alba Global at 170,000 won, noting that “this year’s overseas sales are expected to grow by 138% compared to the previous year, particularly with a 215% growth in the North American market.”
As d’Alba Global records a hit, market interest is also shifting to the cosmetics corporation BENOW. BENOW has been preparing for an IPO, targeting next year after selecting Samsung Securities as the sole underwriter last September.
Established in 2018, BENOW owns various brands including the skincare brand Numbuzin, the makeup brand Fwee, the haircare brand Riah, and the skincare brand Flaskin. Unlike most indie beauty brands that concentrate on a particular field, BENOW is evaluated to have competitiveness in both skincare and color makeup.
Recently, CJ OnStyle made an equity investment of 3 billion won in BENOW, valuing the company at over 900 billion won. Although the equity stake secured by CJ OnStyle is not high, the plan is to help BENOW’s global distribution expansion and generate synergy.
Currently, CJ OnStyle is collaborating with Amazon Global Selling Korea to provide comprehensive support in sales and marketing for the successful entry of beauty brands into the U.S. market. A CJ OnStyle official said, “In the future, we plan to co-plan and develop products with BENOW, making CJ OnStyle the first channel to launch new products from BENOW.”
BENOW’s recent performance has been growing rapidly. According to the company’s audit report, sales, which were just 700 million won in 2019, increased to 6.6 billion won in 2020, 23.5 billion won in 2021, 59.2 billion won in 2022, 114 billion won in 2023, and 266.4 billion won in 2024.
About half of last year’s sales came from overseas. BENOW has local subsidiaries in Japan, China, and the U.S., and is exporting products to 14 countries including the U.S., Japan, and Europe. Last year’s operating profit was 75 billion won, which is a 3.1-fold increase over the previous year, and the operating profit margin reached 28.2%.
Previously, CJ OnStyle had made a 2 billion won investment in APR, which operates the beauty device brand ‘MediCube’ in 2023. MediCube became the number one home beauty device brand, with sales increasing by over 470% in 2023 alone.
APR was listed on the Korea Securities Market last February and is currently maintaining a stock price that is more than double the offering price. Last year’s performance showed sales of 722.8 billion won and an operating profit of 122.7 billion won, increasing by 38.0% and 17.7% respectively compared to the previous year.
A CJ OnStyle official noted, “The experience of achieving good results through investment in APR led to the investment in BENOW,” adding, “For a distributor, having strong procurement capabilities to secure good products is essential to competitiveness, so we will strive to create synergy with BENOW going forward.”