Does the name “Nivea” ring a bell?

Anyone who has purchased sun cream or body lotion, and needed something fast and effective, yet affordable has probably used one product or another from Nivea.

Beiersdorf, the Hamburg-based cosmetic company that operates Nivea, has decided to come out from behind the shadows to woo Korean consumers in the open.

“We are the world’s No. 1 skin care brand, and we wanted to show that we have more brands in our portfolio,” said Stefan Ernst, managing director of Beiersdorf Korea, which recently officially launched its name here.

Ernst believes the company has an exceptional chance in the budding Korean dermo-cosmetic market, and also in foot care, bath care and baby care.

“Eucerin is our dermo-cosmetics brand and we see it to be perfectly suitable for the Korean market,” Ernst said. “It’s for people who actually have a problem with their skin. Naturally, these people would spend more time looking for the right product, and once they do, they stick with it.”

The fact that Koreans once hooked on a product will snatch it up in incredible bulk is another reason why the managing director was so upbeat on the prospects of Eucerin here.

For distribution, the company is depending on mainly specialist stores such as Olive Young to expand its Eucerin brand, along with retailers such as E-Mart and Lotte Mart.

And as Ernst emphasizes, the prices for Eucerin products are extremely reasonable compared to what it claims to do for the skin.

“Korean women go through an average 8 to 12 steps in daily face care, meaning there is the potential of overuse,” he added, saying Eucerin was also meant to be a solution for such possible cosmetics abuse.

To meet the growing interest in feet health, Beiersdorf is promoting another brand, Hansaplast.

“We see a lot of potential because of the extreme climate and the need to take care of your feet,” said Ernst.

Baby and bath care will also become available in the mid and long-term, he predicted.

For Beiersdorf, reliability accompanied with price competitiveness, are two of its top business priorities.

That’s why Ernst is quick to say that Nivea was not ever meant to be a premium brand when asked why it was not associated with the more luxurious cosmetics brands.

“Nivea is a family brand. It’s trustworthy, value for money. We offer the best quality at a fair price,” he said.

La Prairie, also part of the Beiersdorf family, was created as a premium brand, and that’s why it will go into department stores.

Every brand that Beiersdorf runs, from Eucerin to Hansasplast and Nivea to La Prairie all has a carefully mapped out individual purpose.

This meticulous and level-headed planning is behind the success of Beiersdorf Korea, which has enjoyed double digit growth for more than five straight years.

“Korea is a strategic market in Asia. We want to continue with double digit growth,” Ernst said.

He explained that the Korean market was both a challenge and an opportunity.

“It’s not a large market in size, but it’s one of the most dynamic yet trend-setting markets in the world,” Ernst said.

This is why Korea serves as a pilot-market for Beiersdorf, as with many other companies around the world.

He added that Korea was unique in that despite being a very sophisticated and mature market, there is constant change, which is unlike in other mature markets such as in Europe, where there is hardly any fluctuation.

“If we make it here, we can make it anywhere,” he said.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)