Korean cosmetics manufacturer Kolmar has bolstered its North American subsidiary management ahead of a planned expansion in the United States early next year.
The Seoul-based firm has named Yongchul Hur as CEO of Kolmar Laboratories and Kolmar USA; Philippe Warnery as global chief commercial officer; George Rivera as chief science officer of Kolmar USA; and Inki Park as head of the R&D Centre for North America, responsible for bridging the Korean and North American markets.
The company is expanding its sales network with the recent opening of the Kolmar Innovation Centre in New Jersey.
With the plan to build its second US plant in early 2025, the company has also set up a strategic framework that integrates production, sales, and R&D to better penetrate the local market.
Kolmar Korea intends to leverage these strategic hires to maximize the operational capacity of its North American production facilities, including the first US plant and the second plant under construction.
The company aims to achieve $100m sales in the next five years. To this end, it plans to aggressively expand its sales network not only in North America but also in Central and South America.
Moreover, with the rising popularity of K-beauty in the US market through global distribution channels such as Amazon, the company plans to actively promote ODM sales that emphasize market accessibility and logistics efficiency for small and medium-sized Korean indie brands seeking entry into the US market.
“This appointment underscores our commitment to gaining new momentum in the North American market by placing industry experts at the forefront,” said a company spokesman,
“Kolmar Korea will focus on fostering growth through the synergistic collaboration of sales, production, and R&D and expanding its influence beyond North America to Europe,” he added.
