Another year has nearly gone. It seems like only a few months ago that we announced this year’s management policy - Together We Can. Yet, the year is now drawing to a close. I, once again, realize that time really goes fast. This year, more than ever, we have worked hard together under the slogan of ‘Quality Management’ to become a Great Global Brand Company and we have seen good results in this area. 

Then again, there has been both light and shadow. In some countries, channels and brands put up a better show than ever before, but others faced more trouble than ever. Thus, once again, I’d like to underscore that strengthening our retail capability is critical. What differentiates the two groups is that those who did great this year were those who had strengthened their retail capability and appealed to customers. One challenge we faced this year was how to evolve our digital IQ in our growing markets. Today, many cities in Asia continue to grow and change and we need to think of what our role is and what we can do in markets around the world, including Asian markets. 

In fact, among countries, channels and brands that do not seem to have changed much this year in terms of statistical figures, there were some which have actually marked a substantial improvement in terms of quality, and some have actually increased their market share. I think this is all because everyone has worked so hard. Through our meticulous preparation and improvement, we found a hint of how we should deal with the changing times – particularly, the aging society – and it was good to see us capitalize on the chance to go beyond the big and rapid changes sweeping the retail industry. This year, department store and mart channels experienced difficulties. Many companies struggled with financial difficulty due to poor market conditions. Yet, just because everyone else is going through trouble, it does not mean that we should be the same. We must bring about innovation to our brands and respond to the changes we see around us based on innovation. Yes, department stores are facing difficulties, but the demand for high end goods will grow. While many companies are taking a passive approach, we should take anticipative action by clearing away things that could have a bad impact on our image and get ahead.  

This year has been a good year particularly for our Cushion products, as they have been introduced by more brands, channels and countries. However, our competitors are gearing up to launch cushion products next year and local companies in major markets are going to launch new products as well. To that extent, competition will intensify and the market will expand. As I mentioned before, now the competition is not about who is bigger, but it is about who moves faster. Success depends on how fast we respond to changes in environment. Through competition, companies and individuals grow. Through the combination of change, challenge and innovation, companies go further. With change ahead, we must now prepare and innovate ourselves at company level. We must keep in mind that individuals cannot grow without change. Next year will be a significant and challenging time for our group and for all of you.  

Dear Asian Beauty Creators, 

Today, I'd like to tell you about an interesting study conducted in development psychology. The research was about finding the ‘nature of highly successful people’.  It is to experiment subjects over a long time and trace their growth and analyze it. One research project was carried out over 25 years, with children in a small village where the population density and the family structure were likely to remain unchanged. The experiment was simple. Children were given a candy before they took the test and then had 30 minutes to answer questions. The children were told that they would receive another candy if they do not eat it until they finish the test. The project was to observe children over 25 years with two variables: the test result and whether or not the children ate the candy. 

Well, guess what happened? First, among all the children who scored well on the test, some made a great success in their career field and lived happily, while others did not. Children with low scores also showed various kinds of lives. – some were successful while other were not. There was no specific conclusion that the researchers could draw from looking at the test results. Obviously, the results showed that the test score did not have much effect on the children’s later life.

However, what was interesting was that children who ate the candy showed a clear difference from those who did not. Some children were distracted by the candy during the test while some were unable to resist temptation and ate the candy in just 5 to 10 minutes after the test had begun. There were children who could not endure to the end and ate the candy after 29 minutes, even though they had answered all the questions. What was clear was that 80% of the children who overcame temptation and received another candy after 30 minutes mostly had a successful life, later on. They put the candy in their pocket to cut off the source of temptation. In other words, they controlled their impulses to accomplish the greater goal and get the bigger reward that was promised to them. This personal trait is called ‘Delayed Gratification'. The ability to delay gratification is associated with endurance and social adaptability and helps people control themselves and overcome the obstacles they may encounter in their later life.   

There are many other interesting ‘candy’ experiments regarding success and work efficiency. One study showed that eating a candy while working can exert a positive influence on working efficiency. In fact, Google’s logo was inspired by this research. The two 'O's in Google are derived from the shape of the candy and, indeed, are colored like candy. Moreover, there has been a study conducted in which doctors at the University of Chicago were given with dark chocolate. The research showed that doctors who got the most pieces of dark chocolates had a lower misdiagnosis rate than others. These researches are not only interesting, but give us much to think about. 

Dear AMOREPACIFIC Group members, 

Have you heard about GRIT? These days, many leaders emphasize GRIT. It is talked about as unyielding spirit, determination and courage, as sharp as the tip of a gimlet. It is also used as the acronym of 4 key elements which are essential for success. 

The G in GRIT stands for ‘Growth Mindset,’ which indicates the resolve and belief that one can grow through effort. You will never grow without curiosity, self-searching attitude and strong resolve. The R represents Resilience, which is the ability to bounce back from adversity. It is not enough to grow through resolve and belief: resilience is to necessary take you one step closer to success. Resilience also describes the way a lake returns to its placid self. We must avoid undershooting- a psychological state of feeling timid and being unable to play normal after, for example, missing a chance to score a goal in soccer game or getting three strikes in baseball game. Though things did not turn out as we expected, but we must forget them and get back on our feet. It is equally important to avoid overshooting. In the history of war, many defeats resulted from overshooting. What is often observed in defeat is that people were carried away in their triumph after scoring a number of victories and, in their zeal, rushed to the enemy. As a result, they fall into the trap of the enemy and get a counterattack from them. Overshooting is the product of arrogance and overconfidence. We must remain humble, even when we are going well. Failure teaches us success. Yet, likewise, success teaches failure as well. 

Next, the I in GRIT refers to ‘Intrinsic Motivation,’ which is the motivation that comes from within an individual. We must encourage and motivate ourselves in order to go forward. Baseless confidence is a problem, but people who are unable to motivate themselves are a bigger problem. We should think positively about ourselves, and more importantly, love ourselves. Loving oneself too much leads to narcissism, but positive feedback to oneself is a very important driving force in life. 

Lastly, the T represents ‘Tenacity,’ which can be thought of as the perseverance to work toward the end while maintaining a challenging spirit. Do you know why the famous clothing brand Lacoste adopted the crocodile as its logo? Lacoste is the name of a famous tennis player. He was famous for never letting his competitor turn the game around once he was ahead; this is the same quality a crocodile has. When a crocodile hunts its prey, it never shows his violent side, rather pretends to look dull. However, once it sinks its teeth into it, it never lets go of its prey. It simply waits until its prey loses strength. It is the crocodile's hunting tactic to never give up. And, likewise, perseverance is important. It is said that a genius cannot win over one who enjoys. But someone who enjoys cannot win over someone who has perseverance. 

Let’s talk about a ship. The body of a ship must be designed well to endure hydraulic pressure. The bigger the ship, the greater the hydraulic pressure it has to withstand. A high-performance engine and strong keel are important parts, but more importantly, it has to have good endurance to withstand the required hydraulic pressure. A big size and good design do not themselves make a good ship. GRIT is what leads the ship to move forward safely and adroitly over the wild sea. 

Dear AMOREPACIFIC Group members, 

What did you feel when you read about the above research on factors that determine successful people? Let's think of what capabilities we should build, based on GRIT. Some of the successful people are born with special talents and what is more important to success is maintaining an unyielding spirit and overcome difficulties with courage and perseverance. We too must bring about innovation and take advantage of change with determination and fierce resolve. 

We are now at the inflection point toward becoming a Great Global Brand Company. Global sales have surpassed 20% of total sales and some brands have even made 30~40% of their total sales in global markets. The tax-free market has grown bigger with an increasing number of foreign tourists buying our products. More than a 1/4 of our customers are foreigners. There were only a few people inside AMOREPACIFIC Group who expected this dramatic change and, indeed, everyone outside told us that we could never do it. But, you have made all these startling results a reality. If we remain humble and continue to push ahead with innovation without getting trapped in arrogance and overconfidence on our journey toward a Great Global Brand Company, I believe that you all will grow into a bigger global leader. 

I hope that you enjoy the rest of the year with colleagues, and have a great time together, and avoid binge drinking. Koreans like to gather around, eat and talk together. But, there should be no pressure on no pressure on people to drink much or stay all night, rather we have to make sure that this gathering is enjoyable and pleasant to everyone. Please, keep in mind not to offset the beauty of the gathering with indiscreet pressure and – remember - comply with the 119 get-together campaign (drink 1 kind of liquor, 1 party is enough per night and stop drinking at 9 P.M.). I also hope that you spend some time for yourself in the run up to the New Year. Take care of yourself so that you don’t catch cold and I hope that all is well to the end. Thank you for your hard work throughout the year. 

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