The Growth of 3CE
Have you guys ever heard of ‘Style Nanda?’ You’d probably heard of it at least twice if you read our previous post. Style Nanda is an online fashion shopping mall established at 2004. They started their service at Auction Open Market at first. But soon business expanded drastically therefore launched their own independent shopping mall.
After achieving certain awareness in fashion business, they launched new cosmetic brand called ‘3 CONCEPT EYES(3CE)’ at 2009. And this brand creates a remarkable achievements in K-beauty industry with in a decade.
3CE Being Famous Out Of Korea
In 2018, the international beauty brand L’Oreal announced to acquire 3CE for 152M dollars. This remarkable business deal was made due to what 3CE has already accomplished in Asia.
Especially in China, 3CE won great renown for its’ high-quality products. Starting a pop-up store in Myeongdong Lotte Department Store in 2012, they opened the Hongkong flagship store in 2013 and even stored in Shilla Duty-Free shop in 2014 to meet their overseas fans.
Wanghong(网红) did significant work to fascinate the Chinese customers. Wanghong is simply an influencer in China. They are the ones who discovered the excellent quality of 3CE before fame. After certain exposure through their live stream, the reputation skyrocketed that it even got published in major beauty magazines.
Special Tone & Manner of 3CE
Behind all this rapid growth, 3CE has its own unique style. Followed by their brand slogan ‘We play in the different league,’ they have a distinctive tone and manner.
Consumers can tell by photo campaign, whether it is from 3CE or not, at a glance. This is because of their signature models, ‘Nanda Girls.’ Unlike the other fashion & beauty brands, 3CE keep their ambassador always the same -all the way from the beginning. Those models are the exact persona of 3CE. Customers naturally remind of the brand 3CE just by recognizing the model. By continuously using the same model for a long time can build a strong imprinting effect.
It is impossible to mention the signature color ‘pink’ while we talk about 3CE. A more detailed story will be continued below.
Offline Marketing Strategies of 3CE
As Style Nanda first started their business online, they had to make unique offline marketing strategy plans. When 3CE began to enter the offline business, experience pop-up stores was booming at the moment. 3CE has built several flagship stores that are still crowded with customers.
1. Hongdae Flagship Store
The first flagship store was built in 2012 at Hongdae. Hongdae is one of the significant districts in Seoul, filled with young hipsters and artists. So it is obvious why 3CE chose Hongdae for its first offline branch.
What’s so special about this place is ‘the Pink Pool Café’ on the 4th floor. The concept of this place is a lovely indoor pool where we can have cozy tea time. There’s a real pool in the middle of the store, but unfortunately, you cannot use it. Its purpose is ‘the instagramable’ photo spot. Every place is covered with pastel pink, so its 100 percent guarantee to get the perfect profile picture.
2. Pink Hotel (in Myeongdong)
If you visit Myeongdong, you’ll soon spot a building covered with pastel pink. This five-story building is a conceptual flagship store by Style Nanda. The concept of this building is a hotel, so each customer can place the product they want to buy on a plate as if they are in a fancy hotel restaurant. Each floor has a unique concept, just like an average hotel. They also have a café on the 5th, and the 6th floor are also filled with their signature pastel pink.
As they present a unique experience to their customers, it is obvious to draw attention to new customers who were never interested in 3CE before. Now, this pink hotel plays a role as a tourist attraction as well.
After 3CE being acquired by L’Oreal, the former CEO Sohee Kim said she will now work as a Brand Director. Now beauty experts are looking forward to witnessing 3CE, winning the hearts in the global market in near future.