Despite the recent agreement between the US and Iran, domestic textile, fashion, and beauty industries in Korea are facing challenges in expanding into the Middle Eastern market. It is believed that the issues related to exports and logistics accumulated during the conflict will not be resolved immediately with the ceasefire declaration. The focus is on resolving long-standing logistics and channel issues, aiming to stabilize the market by the fourth quarter.
According to the retail industry on the 23rd, despite the US-Iran ceasefire agreement, the Korean fashion and beauty industries seeking to enter the Middle Eastern market have not made significant progress. Rather than resuming operations and aggressively exploring emerging markets, the priority is on stabilizing the supply chain and normalizing logistics.
The textile and fashion industry is preparing for continued logistics risks. Due to the blockade in the Hormuz Strait, canceled ship operations have caused difficulties in fabric exports and buyer contracts. Decreased exports have led to reduced orders, delayed payments, financial burdens, and disruptions in freight and delivery schedules.
A fashion industry official stated, "Stable trade will only be possible once the passage through the Hormuz Strait is normalized and oil prices stabilize," emphasizing the need to resolve the logistical and financial problems that have plagued exports, finance, and logistics.
Experts predict that it will take 2-3 months for passage to resume and freight rates to stabilize. The analysis suggests that it will take time to clear the backlog of cargo during the conflict and for increased freight rates to stabilize.
Until logistics fully normalize, the cosmetics industry is also cautious about expanding operations. They plan to carefully monitor the situation until the end of the year before expanding operations. APRL plans to expand its local distribution network and strengthen offline channel operations from the second half of the year, focusing on market development activities. Currently, they are expanding into offline channels in major Middle Eastern countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Amorepacific is reviewing the resumption of Amore Mall deliveries in conflict areas such as Bahrain, Iran, and Iraq, based on local logistics situations.
Gudai Global is considering strengthening offline operations while monitoring the situation after the ceasefire agreement.
A cosmetics industry official stated, "The ceasefire will not immediately lead to cost savings, as it will require a process of depleting inventory and readjusting the supply chain for 3-6 months. If market stabilization occurs and supply chain stability and cost structure improvements gradually emerge, business activities in the Middle East market will also receive a boost in the long run."