There are more and more offline stores filled with expanded spaces for experience and fun and enjoyable content. Amore Seongsu, which opened last year, has become a hot place as a beauty experience store by Amorepacific. The Amore Store that recently opened in Alleyway Gwanggyo is attracting attention of many by offering product experience and purchasing at the same time.

Today, let's hear more about Amore Store Gwanggyo from New Business Team's Choi Ji-seon who is in charge of managing Amore Seongsu and Amore Store Gwanggyo.

Q. Hello, Choi Ji-seon. Please introduce yourself.

A. Hello. I design and manage stores of new styles and their content such as Amore Seongsu and Amore Store Gwanggyo at New Business Team. I work on providing a wide range of experience to customers and on communication to promote our stores through offline activities such as pop-up stores created in collaboration with different brands and events and services offered at stores as well as online activities including those conducted in connection to YouTube or Instagram.

Q. What are the different characteristics of Amore Seongsu and Amore Store Gwanggyo?

A. If Amore Seongsu is a place solely focused on experience, Amore Store Gwanggyo is a place where customers can test products and buy them, too. The most differentiated feature of the two stores is that you can try out 2,000 products of about 40 Amorepacific brands in a comfortable and pleasant environment.

Amore Seongsu has Instagrammable photo zones that cater to the local sentiment of Seongsu-dong and offers makeup service along with classes related to photography, scent, and flowers as well as pop-up stores. On the other hand, Amore Store Gwanggyo is located at a commercial area where the main target customer group is those in their 30s and 40s. Therefore, the store offers a refill station where customers can buy hair and body products in an eco-friendly manner and beauty sessions (beauty classes) where they can easily and quickly get tips on beauty.

Q. Please tell us more about customers' response to the beauty sessions.

A. Classes offered at Amore Seongsu are held with themes millennials might find interesting, while Amore Store Gwanggyo offers classes customized to customers in their 30s and 40s who live in the area.

We offer 30-minute sessions on home rituals and inner beauty that our customers find interesting, such as a 20-minute home care ritual using HOLITUAL products, face massage classes using makeon Bodyroller, and VITAL BEAUTIE classes on immunity. Customers showed positive response in their comments saying, "they were really friendly and explained information I needed although it was a short session" or "they helped me do the rituals at home by myself". The sessions are temporarily closed due to COVID-19 circumstances, but when situation improves, we plan to offer additional sessions where customers can join with their young children such as safe handwashing using HAPPY BATH products.

Q. As it is a store where customers can make a purchase after product testing, unlike Amore Seongsu, how is the sales performance?

A. As the person in charge of managing the store, I search for reviews on social media. I remember this one comment saying, "my purse is thin because I can buy the products right after testing them, but my heart is happy". Amore Store Gwanggyo has flat, laid out displays and pleasant tester items like Amore Seongsu, offering the optimum self-testing environment. And customers can buy the products they like on the spot. In fact, before we opened Amore Store Gwanggyo, we received a lot of VOC at Amore Seongsu saying, 'it was a great experience and I got to learn about the value of different products, but it was a shame I couldn't buy them at the store'. So, as we prepared to open Amore Store Gwanggyo, we were curious to find out if people will really make purchases if we add sales to an environment that offered true experience of products. Customers try out and buy the various wash and cleansing products along the faucets at the store and a customer even bought a Bodyroller after participating in a face massage session using makeon Bodyroller. We are seeing a virtuous circle of open experience really leading to purchases. (makeon Bodyroller is quite pricey and so, me and my team members were surprised.)

Q. By reflecting the VOC in creating a space, it led to good results for both customers and the store?

A. Yes. And we plan to continue to provide content differentiated from existing retail shops through Amore Seongsu and Amore Store Gwanggyo to reach more customers so that they realize the value of Amorepacific products and would want to buy them.

Q. Lastly, are there any last words you'd like to share as a member of New Business Team, which is continuing new attempts?

A. "This brand was also Amorepacific's?", "There are so many good products by Amorepacific!"
The most memorable VOCs I saw as a planned and managed Amore Seongsu and Amore Store Gwanggyo were these VOCs. The market has taken a shift toward online and online is becoming a more important channel. But there are values of brands and products that can only be delivered and felt offline. I hope to deliver the beauty Amorepacific believes in with a sincere heart to customers by providing various pop-up stores and contents at the two stores. At the same time, I will do my best with Amore Seongsu and Amore Store Gwanggyo so that the various brands and products of Amorepacific can be delivered as attractive, appealing brands and products. I ask for your support!