Coway's re:nk enters 50 US Costco stores in North America push

Re:nk, a beauty brand operated by Coway's cosmetics subsidiary Hillarybe, has entered Costco's physical stores in the United States, extending its reach from online channels into brick-and-mortar retail.

Re:nk officially launched in 50 Costco stores across the country on Wednesday, Coway said Thursday. The move into offline retail is expected to accelerate the brand's push into the North American cosmetics market.

The brand had previously sold products through major US e-commerce channels, including Costco's online store, Amazon and TikTok Shop. Its online momentum was confirmed earlier this year when the Cell to Cell Cream and Cell to Cell Essence sold out ahead of schedule on Costco's website in March and May, respectively.

The offline entry broadens direct contact with local consumers beyond what online channels allow, while also diversifying the brand's sales network.

Re:nk also launched a new product alongside the Costco debut — the Celestial Collagen Cream, which uses collagen water as its base instead of purified water and contains eight types of collagen and 10 types of peptides. The company said the cream incorporates its proprietary ingredient "re:nk Celestial" and is designed to improve skin density and elasticity.

Hillarybe has also been expanding its offline presence in South Korea, entering The Hyundai Seoul's "The Wellness House" and "Musinsa Beauty Hongdae" this year. The company plans to extend its reach into Canada and other parts of North America, as well as Europe.

The overseas expansion comes as Hillarybe works to reverse a slide in earnings. The company's sales in the first half of this year came to 8.5 billion won ($6.33 million), down 25.4 percent from 11.4 billion won in the same period a year earlier, according to disclosures filed with the Financial Supervisory Service. Its net loss narrowed from 3.53 billion won to 2.98 billion won over the same period, but the company remained in the red. Whether the US offline push can translate into a sales recovery is now a key question.

"Entering Costco's physical stores in the United States is an opportunity to showcase re:nk's collagen skincare technology directly to local consumers," a company official said. "We plan to continue introducing differentiated K-beauty products to the global beauty market while expanding our distribution network."