First, we need to know the total market size to assess our potential, so let me first introduce the beauty market in Poland. Compared to large-sized advanced markets in Western Europe, Poland is not huge in size. However, you would view the market differently when you consider ultimate entrance into the Eastern European market. Poland is the biggest consumers' market in Middle- and Eastern Europe. With a population of over 38million, the nation has a much greater domestic market than its neighboring countries such as the Czech Republic or Hungary that are home to just over 10 million people each. The size of the Polish economy is bigger than that of Hungarian, Czech and Slovakian economies combined. What is more surprising than the market size is its growth rate. Since it joined the EU in 2004, Poland has continued to witness a steady growth and was a dark horse that recorded a GDP growth of 4.6% in 2017 even amid an economic recession. The polish economy is expected to post a growth rate of 4.2% in 2018. The beauty industry is also anticipated to show a high growth from 5.6 trillion Korean won in 2016 to 6.3 trillion Korean won by 2021.

 With the economic growth and consequent increase in income level, the Poles are naturally spending more and more money in grooming. In particular, people are realizing the need for functional cosmetics for health such as the products for skin improvement or UV protection creams which are rapidly gaining popularity. Along with the change, the K-beauty trend introduced through the Korean Wave is spreading mainly among young women in their 20s and 30s and a great interest in Korean makeup style and Korean makeup products continues.

 The major players of the cosmetics market in Poland are mostly global brands from the U.S or Western Europe that have secured customers based on their high brand awareness. Accordingly, local manufacturers continue to develop new products with natural ingredients to satisfy consumers' specific needs and defend the market with competitive prices. Moreover, an increasing number of consumers are looking for hypoallergenic and highly functional facial products for lasting beautiful skin against scorching sunshine in Eastern Europe. As such, consumers in Poland view cosmetics not just the products for beauty but also a means for their well-beings.

 How widely has Korean cosmetics penetrated into the Polish beauty market that is posting such a high growth?

 Let's first look into the offline channel with visiting customers. There are three distribution channels in Poland where consumers can touch and try out Korean cosmetic products in Poland. It may not be the accurate number because I did the research myself, but a total of 189 items are being sold. Excluding overlapping products among distributors, it can be said around 170 products are being offered in the market. Personally, I was surprised but also disappointed. It seemed that the main products were low-priced general products by small and mid-sized companies that are not commonly seen in Korea. Even though the reputation of Korean cosmetics is rising globally, it appeared that high-quality cosmetic products have not been introduced in Poland. Holika-Holika was the brand that was being sold at all three distributing channels and the aloe cream of the brand is in fact one of the best sellers.

 The most aggressive distribution channel of Korean cosmetics is definitely Sephora. Belif of LG H&H, Dr. Jart, Skinfood, TONYMOLY and other products of many smaller companies have made inroads into Sephora. In particular, Sephora runs a separate sales stand named "Korean House" exclusively for Korean cosmetic products which draws attention from the Poles. I did an interview with a store counsellor to find out if the products are selling well. When I asked if there are many people looking for Korean cosmetic products, the counsellor answered that young generation around 20 years old are the main customers. I also asked if the products are selling well, and she told me that the sales volume is not huge but is on the rise.

 You can see Korean cosmetics at Rossmann, a German distributor, and Superpharm, a large drugstore brand, but it is such a small scale that it is difficult to actually even notice. Mask packs of small- and mid-sized companies are the main products and the shops would offer a discount promotion in addition to the already affordable prices. The packaging would have Korean, indicating that these products were imported directly from Korea rather than manufactured in Poland for the local market. You can find a sticker in Polish language on the back, but I was doubtful if anyone would actually purchase these mask packs.

 Let's now look at the online channels. In fact, it was easy to find online shopping malls selling Korean cosmetics. Allegro, the largest online mall in Poland, sells Korean cosmetics along with a number of other cosmetics shopping malls. As there are so many online shops including smaller-scale websites for overseas direct purchase or parallel importing, I would like to focus on three main channels as representative cases.

 BEAUTIKON is the largest Korean cosmetics online shopping mall in Poland. Almost all of the products on this site are the products of Korean brands and IT'S SKIN is the main brand. 225 SKUs of IT'S SKIN are on the website for sale and domestic delivery is possible as the website holds stocks. The advantage is that consumers can receive products fast. Delivery is free for over 100PLN(around 30,000 Korean won) purchase and the shop is popular among the Polish people thanks to regular discount events.

 Kontigo sells not just Korean brands but also other brands from the world. However, the website does not offer general brands you can see at department stores or duty free shops. It is more like a multi-brand shop that offers a selection of trendy brands that have not made inroads into the conventional distribution channels in Poland. The main brand of this website is Missha from Korea. Almost all products of Missha are being offered on Kontigo as well as other Asian brands from Korea and Japan. Kontigo also runs offline stores in addition to the online shop, allowing customers to see and test products themselves.

 Korean Store is a small-scale company for parallel import. It only sells a total of 32 SKUs and the price range is high, but it sells the brands of Amorepacific. Delivery time is long and inconsistent, but it is an online shop for customers who really know the brands to visit to purchase specific products.

 Moving on from the somewhat disappointing performances of Korean cosmetics brands, I will now tell you more about the actual customers in Poland. I met local customers in many places including shopping mall, college campus and park. Sometimes I asked them to fill in a survey and offer free cosmetics samples. I also asked my friends from language school or accommodation to be interviewed for more detailed answers, which gave me more honest opinions on Korean-origin brands.

 The first thing I realized while doing the interview was that there was a clear division in opinions between those who have knowledge of Korea and those who do not. The customers who know about Korea and are interested in Korea showed very positive responses to Korean cosmetics. They are actively willing to accept K-Beauty and Korean Routine and want to experience Amorepacific's products as soon as possible. In particular, a student from Warsaw University named Allisija in the above table is a fan of Korea who loves Korean culture and K-pop. She often uses the Korean cosmetic products mentioned earlier. One common opinions of those who showed positive responses to Korean cosmetics was that they all thought Asians including Koreans have baby faces looking much younger than actual ages. They also believe that it is the right timing for Amorepacific to enter into the Polish market as K-Beauty is being introduced more and more in Poland.

 On the other hand, there were customers who were surprisingly unaware of Korea. They only know Korea as an affluent Asian country and a country of Samsung. Aytan, a teacher I met at language school, even asked me a shocking question if Kim Jungeun was Korea's president. Customers who were previously not interested in Korea were completely disinterested in Korean cosmetics. When asked if they had any intention to use Korean cosmetic products, they all answered as neutral, saying where the products were originated from was not really important. Consequently, they would rather look at the ingredients without any particular preference for Korean products.

 I could confirm through survey that Korea was not so well known in Poland. Around 50% of the respondents said they did not know Korea well and that there had not been many opportunities for them to get to know about Korea. Thankfully, Korea had a good image as the respondents thought Japan and Korea as technologically advanced and developed countries. Also, many customers agreed that Asians looking younger than the actual age. Some answered that Korean products had competitive prices, but I think this is because the majority of Korean cosmetics sold in Poland are low-priced mask packs.

 The main reasons for positive responses include 1) young-than-age looking of Korean women 2) natural ingredients of Korean cosmetic products 3) developed technology 4) high quality for the price and 5) admiration for K-pop and Korean culture. On the other hand, the main reason for negative responses was that they could not trust Korea as they did not know much about it. Although it was a good opportunity to learn that the customers in Poland are hesitant to use Korean products as they do not know well enough despite the overall positive image of Korea, it was a bit disappointing as it could be interpreted as a somewhat negative response.

 The table above shows quantified acceptance of K-Beauty in Poland as a result of my interviews and survey. I compared the result with the acceptance indexes for advanced European countries utilizing the existing data from Marketing Research Team. As you can see in the graph, the index of Korean cosmetics by the Polish people is 35, a bit lower than other European countries. In other words, the Polish market is not well aware of Korean cosmetics yet and is less willing to accept it in the future.

 The index alone may suggest a pessimistic outlook for the Polish market, but personally, I think otherwise. I do not believe that the low acceptance rate means rejection of Korean products. Rather, it is a neutral attitude towards products from any origin. As mentioned in the interview details, many Polish people do not have preference for a specific country. They do not have biased opinions on European products such as those from France or the U.K or Korean products. In reverse, this can be interpreted as that Polish customers will choose our products despite the low awareness of Korean products if we actively highlight the high quality and positive image of our products. It is also worth noting that the preference for domestic brands is lower in Poland compared to in other countries, which indicates that the people in Poland choose a brand without any prejudice.

 I could learn a lot through my journey to look for K-Beauty and listen to customers' opinions in Poland, far away from Korea. As I conclude, I would like to revisit the questions I asked in the beginning. How well are Korean cosmetic products known in Poland? How well will Polish people accept Korean cosmetics when Amorepacific enters the market?

 Of course, there are many Polish customers who are not well aware of Korea. Consequently, the acceptance of Korean cosmetic products is not that high. In addition, the Korean brands that have already made inroads into the Polish market consist mainly of low-cost products targeting young customers. However, I discovered more opportunities than negative factors that would be threats. The awareness that Korean women have good skin and younger-than-age looks, an increasing interest in K-Beauty, Polish customers with no prejudice about the origin of cosmetics products and a trend to prefer naturalistic ingredients are all positive factors for Amorepacific. If we can actively utilize all of these factors and enter into the Polish market, Amorepacific may be able to boost explosive interest in Korean cosmetics and lead the Eastern European market. This may be the good timing to launch good quality K-Beauty in the Polish market, the strongest player in the Eastern Europe.

 Reported by Moon Seunghwan from Warsaw, Poland. Thank you for reading my column and see you all in Korea soon!!!