South Korean cosmetics manufacturer It’s Hanbul Co. is seeking to boost exposure of its beauty and skin-care products in Japan by forging partnership with a local retailer.

It’s Hanbul said on Wednesday that it has opened a pop-up store of its brand shop It’s Skin inside two niko and… stores each in Tokyo and Funabashi in Japan and plans to open eight more this year. niko and… is a popular beauty multi-shop operator in Japan run by Adastria Co., a fashion and retail company whose annual sales is about 2 trillion won ($1.89 billion). Adastria, which manages 17 lifestyle and apparel brands including niko and…, has been seeking to expand its global business in Asia.

The Korean cosmetics company plans to sell about 500 It’s Skin items via niko and… stores including those developed exclusively for the Japanese market.

An unnamed official from It’s Hanbul said the company hopes to boost its brand awareness in Japan and will target the local market through the partnership with a local life-style company. It will also aim to increase overseas sales by introducing high-quality, consumer-friendly products.

Currently, It’s Hanbul manages 53 stores in Japan, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Russia, the United States, Canada, Mongolia, and Hong Kong. In China where it does not have an offline store sells its products via online malls. The company is currently producing products at its plant in China after receiving approval for its facility in Huzhou, China, in October last year.

It’s Skin, meanwhile, is known overseas for its Prestige D’Escargot skin-care item range that includes a lip balm that contains snail slime and a propolis-enriched eye patch.

Shares of It’s Hanbul ended at 62,800 won, down 4.85 percent or 3,200 won from the previous session.

By Kang Da-young and Lee Eun-joo

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