business plan for a korean cosmetic products webstore

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Thu Nguyen Business plan for a Korean cosmetic products webstore based in Finland Thesis Spring 2019 School of Business and Culture Degree Programme in International Business

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Page 1: Business plan for a Korean cosmetic products webstore

Thu Nguyen

Business plan for a Korean cosmetic products webstore based in Finland

Thesis

Spring 2019

School of Business and Culture

Degree Programme in International Business

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SEINÄJOKI UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

Thesis abstract

Faculty: School of Business and Culture

Degree Programme: Bachelor of Business Administration

Specialisation: E-business

Author(s): Thu Nguyen

Title of thesis: Business plan for a Korean cosmetic products webstore based in Finland

Supervisor(s): Miia Koski

Year: 2019 Number of pages: 53 Number of appendices: 6

The thesis focuses on assessing the possibility to establish a South Korean cos-metic product webstore based in Finland and finding out the necessary compo-nents of the business plan for it. The study provides knowledge and information related to creating an e-commerce business in Finland and insightful details relat-ed to business plans for a start-up company.

The theoretical framework includes understanding about entrepreneurship and how an entrepreneur acts, behaves and needs in order to start up a business. Ad-ditionally, Finnish start-up conditions are being discussed and described in order to see the challenges and opportunities. It also provides the knowledge concerning the detailed elements of a concrete business plan.

The empirical section provides the results from a study conducted by the author using mixed method. The study’s aim was to find out consumers’ attitudes towards South Korean cosmetic products and their purchasing patterns. The section also includes the detailed business plan for the webstore.

Through the findings and analyses, it is feasible to establish the business idea in real life based on the different aspects of the business environment. In order to overcome the challenges, it is essential to conduct a proper plan with careful con-siderations and calculations.

Keywords: ebusiness, ecommerce, webstore, cosmetic, South Korean, startup, entrepreneurship

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Thesis abstract .................................................................................... 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................... 3

Terms and Abbreviations ..................................................................... 5

Tables, Figures and Pictures ............................................................... 6

1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 8

1.1 Topic justification ......................................................................................... 8

1.2 The aim of the thesis ................................................................................... 9

1.3 Limitations of the thesis ............................................................................... 9

1.4 Research methods ...................................................................................... 9

1.4.1 Research sources ............................................................................. 9

1.4.2 Justification ..................................................................................... 10

1.5 Thesis layout ............................................................................................. 10

2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................... 12

2.1 Entrepreneurship ....................................................................................... 12

2.1.1 E-commerce entrepreneurship ....................................................... 13

2.2 Consumers’ attitudes ................................................................................ 15

2.3 Business plan ............................................................................................ 16

2.3.1 Definition ......................................................................................... 17

2.3.2 Purpose .......................................................................................... 17

2.3.3 Contents ......................................................................................... 18

3 EMPIRICIAL STUDY ..................................................................... 22

3.1 Base population generation ...................................................................... 22

3.2 Sampling method ...................................................................................... 22

3.3 Sample design .......................................................................................... 23

3.4 Questionnaire design and method ............................................................ 23

3.5 Questionnaire content ............................................................................... 24

3.6 Results ...................................................................................................... 24

3.6.1 Genders of the respondents ........................................................... 24

3.6.2 Age groups of the respondents ....................................................... 25

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3.6.3 Employment status of respondents ................................................. 25

3.6.4 Respondents’ frequency of using skincare cosmetic products ........ 26

3.6.5 Respondents’ frequency of using make-up cosmetic products ....... 27

3.6.6 The amount of money that consumers are willing to spend on

cosmetic products monthly .............................................................. 27

3.6.7 Respondents’ awareness of South Korean cosmetic products ....... 28

3.6.8 Respondents' use and attitudes of South Korean cosmetic products

........................................................................................................ 29

3.6.9 Reasons why respondents were hesitant to incorporate South

Korean cosmetic products into their routines .................................. 29

3.6.10 Respondents’ general opinions about Korean cosmetic products .. 31

3.6.11 Aspects of a cosmetic product that respondents care about ........... 33

4 BUSINESS PLAN ......................................................................... 35

4.1 Executive summary ................................................................................... 35

4.2 General company description.................................................................... 35

4.3 Establishment and legal responsibilities .................................................... 36

4.4 Management and organisation .................................................................. 37

4.5 Products and services ............................................................................... 38

4.6 Market and competition ............................................................................. 39

4.7 Marketing and sales .................................................................................. 41

4.8 Research and development ...................................................................... 43

4.9 Purchase and logistics .............................................................................. 43

4.10 Financial plan .................................................................................. 45

4.10.1 Financial requirements and funding sources .................................. 45

4.10.2 Sales estimate ................................................................................ 46

5 CONCLUSION .............................................................................. 47

5.1 The possibility of establishing the business .............................................. 47

5.2 The necessary resources .......................................................................... 48

BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................ 49

APPENDICES ................................................................................... 53

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Terms and Abbreviations

Base population The entire group of individuals that the author is interest-

ed in the study

Bot An Internet robot or software application

Cosmetic Relating to treatment with the intention to restore or im-

prove a person’s appearance

Delivered at place All charges as well as delivery to the buyer facilities will

be arranged by the seller. Customers clearance cost can

be taken care of either the buyer or the seller based on

the agreement. Import duty and taxes will be paid by the

buyer at the destination

E-commerce The activity of buying or selling of products on online ser-

vices or over the Internet

Make-up Coloured cosmetics applied to face in order to enhance or

alter appearance

Sample A smaller, manageable version of a larger group contain-

ing the characteristics of the base population

Skincare The use of cosmetics to care for the skin

Start-up A newly emerged business venture

YEL insurance The pension insurance for self-employed people in Fin-

land

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Tables, Figures and Pictures

Figure 1. A simple model of the relationship between attitudes and behaviour.

(Nair 2008, 119) .................................................................................................... 16

Figure 2. The gender proportion of the respondents. ............................................ 24

Figure 3. Age of the respondents. ......................................................................... 25

Figure 4. The employment status of the respondents. .......................................... 26

Figure 5. Respondents’ frequency of using skincare products. ............................. 26

Figure 6. Respondents’ frequency of using make-up products. ............................ 27

Figure 7. The amount of money that consumers are willing to spend on cosmetic

products monthly. .................................................................................................. 28

Figure 8. Respondents’ awareness of South Korean cosmetic products. ............. 28

Figure 9. Respondents’ use and attitudes towards South Korean cosmetic

products. ............................................................................................................... 29

Figure 10. Reasons why respondents were hesitant to incorporate South Korean

cosmetic products into their routines. .................................................................... 30

Figure 11. Aspects of a cosmetic product that respondents care about the most. 34

Figure 12. Company’s structure ............................................................................ 37

Figure 13. The price of the Snail Bee High Content Skin Toner 150 ml on their

official eBay selling site. ........................................................................................ 41

Table 14. Comparison of selling price and price mark-up of the three competitors

of the Snail Bee High Content Skin Toner 150 ml (VAT 24%) .............................. 42

Table 15. The required expenditure to start running the business. ....................... 45

Table 16. The sources of the funding for the company’s establishment. .............. 45

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Table 17. The sales estimate of the company from year 2019 to 2021. ................ 46

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1 INTRODUCTION

The section introduces the readers to the topic, the topic justification, the aims, the

limitations as well as the research methods of the thesis. After that, the thesis lay-

out will be presented. In addition, the section also gives the readers some infor-

mation related to the background of the thesis.

1.1 Topic justification

Skincare, haircare, fragrances, soaps or shower gels – the products which appear

in the bathroom cabinet of almost every household – are just a few of the many

products belong to the global cosmetic industry which was estimated to worth

more than five hundred billion dollars (Reuters, 2018) and this figure is predicted

to grow furthermore by 2023. Playing a great role in contributing to the growth is

the South Korean cosmetic industry, which possesses the solid foundation for

functional cosmetics development. The industry’s today aim is to spread its reputa-

tion and innovation across the globe, specifically to Europe.

Besides, according to Export.gov (2018), e-commerce channel in South Korea will

continue to improve its great influence on how companies reach its consumers.

Additionally, recent technology advancement in the mobile industry will surely in-

crease online mobile shopping experience to meet customers’ rising demands.

Another remark is the fact that Finland is steadily introducing a new scheme to

promote entrepreneur activity to make the country become a more competitive

destination for innovative firms to set up their foundation to grow (Yle, 2018).

Therefore, it is the perfect environment for fresh start-ups to test their products and

abilities.

As for the author, being a young and energetic female individual of the twenty-first

century makes herself see personal health and beauty care as a field of interest.

As a cosmetic enthusiast, it is purely the author’s nature to profoundly find joy in

researching different beauty products and their effects on enhancing the condition

and appearance of the skin.

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1.2 The aim of the thesis

The main goal to be achieved in this thesis is to investigate the process of building

up the business along with the essential elements for a success web-store. In ad-

dition to that, the author wishes to examine the challenges and evaluate the oppor-

tunities of entrepreneurship in Finland concerning the e-commerce cosmetic in-

dustry.

Furthermore, the research, hopefully, will bring about a concrete business plan

with detailed explanation and analyzation of different components. Throughout the

investigation and research, the author can finally evaluate the possibility as well as

the financial feasibility of the business idea in a reality scenario.

1.3 Limitations of the thesis

Due to the fact that the economy and the industry experience constant adjust-

ments, the information and data collected and given in the thesis should never be

assessed to be absolute.

In addition, since the plan is written to be used for starting up the business in Fin-

land, the focus of the background for different elements lies within the Finnish en-

vironment and market only.

1.4 Research methods

The section describes the types of sources used for the research, their benefits

and the justification for the author’s choice.

1.4.1 Research sources

In the theoretical part, several literatures and secondary data about entrepreneur-

ship, e-commerce, business plan and business model will be collected and re-

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viewed. Data and knowledge are then processed and analysed to establish the

business plan for the creation of the webstore.

In the empirical study, the primary data is mainly used in the analysis of the con-

sumers’ attitudes towards South Korean cosmetic productions. The data is collect-

ed through a questionnaire conducted from November 15th to 18th, 2018 in Finland

via Webropol service.

By and large, the types of sources used for the thesis consist of:

– Electronic and physical literatures, publications and articles related to the

theoretical frameworks.

– Inspections and examinations from existing companies in the same field.

– The questionnaire’s results conducted in the empirical study.

1.4.2 Justification

Research of this type is closely associated with the urge to explore and elevate the

existing knowledge in the field. Because of that, the findings from the secondary

sources might not provide enough knowledge and facts about the actual situation

of the industry and the market. In order to overcome that problem, observations

from existing competitors and a questionnaire were conducted with the aim to

substantially clarify the authenticity of the thesis.

1.5 Thesis layout

The layout of the thesis includes three main parts which are: Theoretical frame-

work, Empirical study and Business plan.

The theoretical framework familiarises the audience to the background of the

study, introduces the related literature reviews, illustrates the concrete base to

show the insightful knowledge and theories related to the creation of a standard-

ised business plan. Additionally, the part investigates associated issues and ele-

ments about entrepreneurship and e-business.

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After that, the empirical study is revealed to present the questionnaire and the pri-

mary data collected from respondents. Along with that will come the analysis of the

processed information about the current situation of the market.

After combining the knowledge consumed from the theoretical framework and the

analysis of the empirical study, the finished business plan to establish the web-

store with essential elements will be presented.

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2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The section describes the concepts and theories which are used as the foundation

for a healthy business. The section also familiarises the readers with the defini-

tions of entrepreneurship and how it is perceived in e-commerce sector. After that,

the core components of the business plan as well as the other essential require-

ments are introduced and explained.

2.1 Entrepreneurship

Uncertainty is something that is now officially taken for granted by everybody as

the humanity continues to write their story of the 21st century. Global warming has

shifted the way climate functions, trade wars will potentially change the way a

household allocate their spending budgets while human rights related issues are

discussed on the conference table across the world and so on.

However, in Eurozone, Bowman (2017) points out unemployment has showed

signs of recovery though the numbers still display some negatives. Together with

that, Maulani (2018) reports that Europe has been an attractive destination to-

wards talents and entrepreneurs who wish to explore what it has to offer them to

grow: Migration of talents and increasing competitions.

Thus, within that unstable scenery lights up the ideal opportunity for entrepreneurs

to evolve and prove their abilities. As Bolton and Thompson (2013, 72) point out,

entrepreneur is “a person who habitually creates and innovates to build something

of recognised value around perceived opportunities” as if their exploit of opportuni-

ties comes purely from the way they are naturally characterized.

They also emphasize that entrepreneurs should not be seen as businessmen or

owners as entrepreneurs commonly do not put high earnings or social statuses as

the motives of their creativity and creation; instead they value the joy of “starting

from scratch” and then develop the idea furthermore. It is indeed that sometimes,

an entrepreneur chooses to put the economic aspects aside and focuses more on

generating recognized contribution to the society.

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Note that in the definition above, the authors used the term “a person”; in order to

illustrate this point further, Casson (2003, 20) argues that an entrepreneur has the

ability to make decisions which affect the course of the business and the whole

entrepreneurship process. Hence, a group of people may be able to bring about

strategic tactics which affects how other people think and act. He also noted that it

does not mean that the role of a team in a business should be banished.

On another note, Cantillon (2010, 73) introduced his theory of entrepreneurship by

discussing the case of a farmer running his farm. It involves renting the property,

employs the workers for the farm, deciding on what types of products to grow,

marking the price tag of products based on different aspects and so on. And alt-

hough having to go through with all of those, he is still uncertain of the profit he will

gain afterwards or clueless about whether tomorrow he would go bankrupt. Cantil-

lon (2010, 76) also claimed that entrepreneurs see the uncertainty as their living

habitat as none of them can say for sure the picture of the market would look like

the next day. That business operation of the farmer has summed up the way en-

trepreneurs behave, they seize opportunities, establish businesses, operate the

businesses, calculate risks and monitor the business and they are creative.

According to Kuratko (2008, 30-31), a set of characteristics have been identified

as they depicts closely entrepreneurs. Some of the things are the same with the

behaviours mentioned above, apart from that, the list also mentions:

– Entrepreneurs are committed, determined and perseverant

– They strive to accomplish and develop

– They act initiatively and responsibly

– They look forward to being better from comments they receive

– They hardly have interest in status, fame or power

2.1.1 E-commerce entrepreneurship

Finland’s start-up condition. According to Paytrail (2018, 4), the Finnish e-

commerce saw a dramatic growth and companies who know to utilize the digitali-

zation opportunities will be the leaders of the game in the long run. Meanwhile,

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according to Turula (2018), Finnish start-up scene showed positive movements

when in 2017, the venture capital of the Finnish start-ups and growth companies

was € 349 million. Besides, Finland is the birth place of about 4000 start-up com-

panies each year while Helsinki ranks the first place in the world as it does the

best job in connecting founders, investors and experts (Business Finland).

Trends. Rich (2005, 25) assessed that we are living in an amazing era where the

power of Internet has reached another level and it determines the way businesses

operate.

The general trend is said to be optimizing digitalization as in making online buying

as a must-have option; the lack of online services can cause the firms to lose a

large proportion of customers (Paytrail 2018, 10). Such trend includes the increas-

ing popularity of mobile purchasing, utilization of voice searching and easy pay-

ment experiences for customers (Delmore 2019). As people nowadays spend

more time and time being on their mobile phone and the fast development of mo-

bile technology, offering smooth and effortless online shopping experience will in-

crease customer satisfaction furthermore.

Challenges. Almost industries face challenges these days, whether those relate to

technical difficulties or financial security. Captivating challenges of e-commerce

that entrepreneurs have to face will help the company come up with the suitable

strategy to combat the issues.

Doing e-commerce means that operating the company on an Internet-based plat-

form where technology standards vary geographically. Therefore, it is easy to see

how companies face the challenge of working with partners around the world ex-

periencing differences in cultures, time zones and technical infrastructure. Mean-

while, it is extremely important for companies to build up a strong technical system

for the business. May (2000, 227-238) discusses that e-commerce involves a lot of

issues in which include platform risks, communication disconnection and lack of

skills.

Another issue is how to retain customers and increase customer loyalty. Butscher

(2016, 111) claims that the Internet gives the consumers a chance to improve their

knowledge about the products while the Internet also gives the companies the

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tools to increase their customer assistance. Customers always look for the best

purchasing experience which is fitting to their needs and demands, hence, earning

their trust and loyalty is important in order ensure the health of the online busi-

nesses.

2.2 Consumers’ attitudes

Structure of attitudes. According to Solomon et al. (2006, 138), an attitude is

formed based on a general opinion which has been existed over time. At the same

time, an attitude can help build up a portrait of a person, from the way they act,

their preferences, their ways of choosing things and so on.

Meanwhile, Jansson-Boyd (2010, 83) explained that the structure of attitudes in-

cludes affective, cognitive and behavioural components. With that said, if attitudes

are heavily formed based on facts, they are called cognitively based. This type of

attitude can be seen when a person decides to purchase a lightbulb, they base

their evaluation on how much electricity it consumes and/or the longevity of the

bulb.

According to Maio and Haddock (2009, 25), affectively (emotionally) based atti-

tudes, on the other hand, are mainly based on emotions and feelings and the

characteristic of the affective response towards an object will likely be the charac-

teristic of the attitude towards that object (negative response leads to negative atti-

tude). Jansson-Boyd (2010, 83) claims that it is sometimes hard to explain why a

person favours a certain product as his attitude can be formed by the affecting

sources such as other people’s values, opinions and beliefs.

Behaviourally based attitudes base on people’s observations of how they tend to

behave towards an object (Jansson-Boyd 2010, 83) and these attitudes may be

the results of a sequels of their past behaviours.

Benefits of understanding consumers’ attitudes. According to Foxall, Gold-

smith and Brown (1998, 102), understanding the attitudes of consumers gives the

marketers the resources to bring about the products that favoured by the custom-

ers, to develop successful promotion plans and evaluate their practices. As in

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marketing, attitudes usually refer to likes and dislikes, positives or negatives to-

wards an advertisement, a slogan, a product, a brand representative, a store and

so on, being able to acquire, access and process the data containing that infor-

mation will help companies improve their knowledge about the market and brain-

storm the suitable plans for their products.

Relationship between attitudes and behaviours. According to Foxall et al.

(1998, 109), attitudes have effects upon behaviours. Nair (2008, 119) also shows

the same opinion which can be seen in the following figure.

Figure 1. A simple model of the relationship between attitudes and behaviour. (Nair 2008, 119)

However, many authors including Solomon et al. (2006, 155) claim that attitude is

a poor predictor of behaviour. In other words, one’s attitudes towards something

will not likely reflect how the person will behave towards it. O'Shaughnessy (1992,

68) explains that attitudes cannot predict behaviours unless the goals of those two

things are in agreement with each other. Nair (2008, 120) summarises that exter-

nal influences including unexpected situations, time gap, situational matters and

so on can be the reasons why people do not behave in correlation with their atti-

tudes.

2.3 Business plan

The section gives the readers the definition of the business plan and explains the

reason why a business plan is needed when establishing a new company. After

that, the elements of a business plan are presented together with their meanings

and functions in a business plan.

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2.3.1 Definition

Ekanem (2017, 1) defines a business plan as a detailed statement that illustrates

the business, its purposes and the way those purposes can be accomplished.

While McKeever (2007, 8) adds that the plan must also contain the financial activi-

ties involved in the business. In other words, the business plan contains different

elements that are essential to the creation and the development of a business in

all aspects so that it can produce the promised values to different subjects in the

society.

2.3.2 Purpose

There are many important things associated with the creation of a business plan in

any business establishments.

Set particular goals for the business owners. Berry (2006) points out that set-

ting detailed objectives and concrete checking up on the goals are crucial in order

to have a good management system. When the goals are set to be clear, the busi-

ness owners can always rely on those to develop their business on the correct

track. Keeping the motives in mind also means that the business will be able to

create the values for the society that it meant to create at the first place.

Assess the feasibility of the business establishment. Even though the idea of

the business seems to be realistic and clear, there can be some obstacles or prob-

lems that can only be checked through a business plan. After all the imperfections

get unfold, the analysis should be able to tell if the concept is feasible or not,

therefore, give the business entrepreneur the chance to correct the flaws to pro-

ceed or terminate the idea (McKeever 2007, 8).

Determine key strategic partners. Being a loner is never an easy way to start a

game. Therefore, in order to make the business grow firmly since the first day, the

business plan should be able to identify the potential alliances that offer multiple

benefits for both parties. Išoraitė (2009, 42) claims that the merits of cooperating

with a partner in business includes helping the companies to enter the market at a

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lower cost, supporting firms to control their risks, accessing the knowledge and

expertise in the area that the companies do not have and accomplishing a synergy

and competitive advantage.

Evaluate financial ability. Doing business, big or small, always involves financial

activities. The business plan will draw out the financial health that the business

needs to acquire or help the investors to determine if they can make some good

use out of their funds (Fontinelle).

2.3.3 Contents

Executive summary. The motive of this part is to capture the reader’s focus by

introducing them to the main sections in order to get a quick view of the whole

business plan (Schwetje & Vaseghi 2007, 28). It is advised that it should be written

after the business plan has been finished. The summary should contain all of the

issues such as what the product is, who will buy the product, who owns the busi-

ness and the general picture of how business functions in the industry.

General company description. The main goal of the part is to provide the gen-

eral knowledge about the company to the audience, hence, help them to be more

familiarised with what the business is all about. The section (Ford, Bornstein &

Pruitt 2007, 79) will include information about the type of business of the company,

the target groups of customers that it wants to reach, the location of the business

as well as the scope of activity that the company are active. In addition, certain

level of the latest updates can be found in the section to keep the readers well in-

formed of the stage that the company is at. It is highly important to include the ob-

jectives that the company is aiming at in a certain timeline. A mission statement

should be added to help identify the aims that they are striving for as well as the

target to keep them on track. As a consequence, the tone of the mission statement

should be clear, succinct and meaningful.

Establishment and legal responsibilities. Setting out the necessary steps to

make the establishment of the company legal is essential. Legal procedures for

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the company registration as well as other responsibilities should be discussed and

reviewed.

Management and organisation. In this section, it is important to define the struc-

ture of the company. Additionally, information related to the company’s policies,

standards for personnel management should be addressed thoroughly (Griffin

2015, 5). By doing this, readers have a clearer view of what organisational activi-

ties the company does, what kinds of human resources are required. A descriptive

list of tasks and responsibility of the human resources is needed in order to clarify

the strengths, weaknesses of the team in order to run the company. Another point

to be discussed in the section is the selection of the legal form of the company.

Product and services. The section acts as an in-depth explanation on what prod-

ucts the company sells. The description must be clear, well-written and informative

so that all the product features are presented. Schwetje et al (2007, 59-63) sug-

gest that the benefit, quality, price point, technological characteristics, design,

brand and other unique selling points have to be displayed thoroughly to build up

the detailed description of the product. At the same time, auxiliary services can be

addressed if there is any. Product plan and portfolio should be included so that

readers can be aware of the potential corresponding market growth, stages of de-

velopment, opportunities and risks associated with the product.

Market and competition. The section focuses on analysing the market and its

players in the field. Investors are curious to know all the data related to the target

customers such as their demographic statistics, purchasing behaviours and pat-

terns (Hormozi et al. 2002, 756). By mentioning the data, the level of attractive-

ness can be determined, accessed in order to build up a suitable strategy which is

tailored to the situation of the company.

Bhusry (2005, 38) defines market segmentation as the process of classifying con-

sumers into different groups according to geography, demographics, psycho-

graphics or behaviours. Determining the features of each group can help the com-

pany to come up with suitable marketing strategies.

Competitors are a part of the market; therefore, it is important to find out how they

are doing in the market. Identify the characteristics of each opponent gives the

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chance for the company to prioritize key strategies to reach its goals in the most

time-saving way as possible. Categorizing opponents according to their behaviour

or market share will give the company the solution on how to penetrate itself into

the market safely and effectively.

Marketing and sales. One of the most important aspects of the business plan is

the marketing and sales plan in which tactics and strategies to capture the sales

opportunities and market situations in order to attract customers and generate

profits are explained (Ford et al 2007, 91). Therefore, in this section, pricing policy

is discussed so that it perfectly represents the values that customers expect to

receive. In the part, price mark-up of competitors can be discussed in order to de-

fend the pricing policy chosen. Pride and Ferrell (2008, A-23) show the formula for

calculating the mark-up percentage on the selling price as:

𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑢𝑝 𝑎𝑠 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 =𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝐴𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡

𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒 (1)

Next, promotional plan should be able to tell how the chosen marketing activities

will be able to manipulate the market while successfully attracting and retaining the

customers. At the end, a list of complete activities related to marketing and sales is

presented to conclude the important tasks and action steps to achieve the market-

ing goals.

Research and development. No products or services can run away from obso-

lescence; therefore, it is important to build up a research and development plan to

make sure that the business strives to create values to the society in the future.

The section also defines how company identifies new trends occurring in the mar-

ket and its strategy to utilize or cope with them.

Purchase and logistics. It is highly important to display the way the purchase

process operates without bumping into any problems. The purchase and logistics

plan should mention different factors which associate with the acquire and the ne-

gotiation of products from the suppliers together with the delivery to the final con-

sumers. Those factors include the purchasing volume, quality control strategy, the

process, storage, logistics and the needed human resources.

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Financial plan. Finances is the part that business creators usually have to work

on by facing the facts, no matter if they are positive or negative. As Hormozi et al

(2002, 758-759) mention, key figures must be presented. Moreover, analysis and

forecast should be logically based on the financial performance of the company in

order to deliver a realistic picture. There are some key financial documents: Ex-

penditure requirements, funding resources and sale estimation. According to Mo-

rah (2017), the expenditure requirements document depicts the costs associated

with the establishment of the new business such as employee expenses, market-

ing investment, premise costs and so on. Hence, in order to find the funding to

cover those costs, a funding sources plan has to be drawn up. Meanwhile, the sale

estimate provides information about the company’s sales, operating expenses and

potential profit for different operating years.

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3 EMPIRICIAL STUDY

3.1 Base population generation

First of all, in order to find out the base population of the study, a certain number of

literatures were reviewed and processed. According to Audience Project (2017, 9),

all age groups are participating in online shopping monthly, however, the percent-

age may differ due to their financial strength and demand. In Finland, 67% of peo-

ple aged 15 to 25 years old use a proportion of their money to shop online on a

monthly basis. Meanwhile, they main customers of online commerce are those

whose age is from 26 to 35 years old as 70% of the population in the age group

purchase online products each month. Last but not least, during the same time,

66% of people from 36 to 45 years old and 58% of people from 46 to 54 years old

also allocate some of their spending on online shopping.

From the study of Audience Project, it can be seen clearly that, in Finland, con-

sumers aged 15 to 54 years old are the main demographic consumers of online

retailers, hence they are the base population of the study.

3.2 Sampling method

According to Black (2011, 230-231), purposive sampling or non-random sampling

is a technique to generate the sample for the research based on the judgement of

the researcher. In other words, the researcher sets out criteria for choosing the

informant of the research based on her own requirement and common sense.

Due to the nature of purposive sampling which is non-probability, it is often seen

as a bias method. However, because of the characteristic of the questionnaire, this

method will save more time in the process of designing the sample. Additionally,

the method helps to generate a suitable sample to participate in the questionnaire

and thus, increase the responding rate. As the sample meets the criteria of the

researcher, their high interest in the study will result in a greater data generated

from the qualitative part of the questionnaire.

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3.3 Sample design

5382 email addresses of students of Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences were

chosen to be the sample of the questionnaire.

Since in most cases, consumers under the age of 18 need the consent of parents

or guardians to purchase goods, they are excluded from the sample. Meanwhile,

the students, to an extent, represents the age group of the base population. In ad-

dition to that, according to Statistics Finland (2012), young people and young

adults are the most avid users when it comes to Internet usage, thus, that makes

them more trustworthy to talk about online shopping experiences. At the same

time, University of Missouri-Columbia (2012) claimed that college students are

more conscious about their appearance than they care about their health. As a

result, the sample will be able to deliver the detailed information as the question-

naire reflects their interests in their lives.

3.4 Questionnaire design and method

The questionnaire was activated and sent on Thursday, November 15th, 2018 and

then deactivated on Saturday, November 17th, 2018. An introduction letter which

contained the link directing recipients to the questionnaire on Webropol was sent

to 5382 students of Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences. The exact number of

the recipients was taken from the administrator of the Outlook mailing system. Re-

cipients were asked to answer the questionnaire called “Consumers’ attitudes to-

wards South Korean cosmetic products”. Anonymity was assured as publishing

survey as a public link on Webropol will automatically make the correspondents

anonymous unless there are questions asking about their identities. Question-

naire’s languages were English and Finnish. There were 11 questions in total in

which 10 were mandatory and 1 was an optional free-text question.

Data collected were then sent to Webropol interface. The report was conducted

and written in a power point slide.

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3.5 Questionnaire content

The full content of the questionnaire can be found in the appendix.

3.6 Results

Out of all more than 5300 recipients, 427 people (about 7,9%) replied, including

141 (33%) that had been finished completely. Most of the incomplete responses

was because people chose to skip the optional questions which required a free-

text answer, indicating that they might have no interest in the study or simply did

not have enough knowledge and experiences to provide their opinions. Since the

age of the sample has been set to be from 18 to 54 years old, 3 answers were ex-

cluded from the responses.

3.6.1 Genders of the respondents

The aim of the question was to find out if there is any differences or patterns in-

volving with the genders of the respondents. 15% of the respondents were men

and 85% of them were women.

Figure 2. The gender proportion of the respondents.

15%

85%

Male Female

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3.6.2 Age groups of the respondents

The aim of the question was to identify the age of the respondents. The majority

(53%) of the informants were people from 18 to 24 years old. 30% of the respond-

ents were from 25 to 34 years old. People aged from 35 to 44 years old accounted

for 12% of all the informants. Lastly, there were only 21 (5%) people aged from 45

to 54 years old.

Figure 3. Age of the respondents.

3.6.3 Employment status of respondents

The aim of the question was to find out the employment status of the informants.

19% of the answers was employed. The majority (79%) of the correspondents said

that they were currently studying. While the number of self-employed and un-

employed people were the same which was 5 people, each accounted for 5% of

the correspondents.

53%30%

12%

5%

18 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45-54

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Figure 4. The employment status of the respondents.

3.6.4 Respondents’ frequency of using skincare cosmetic products

This question helped to illustrate consumers’ skincare routines. 4% of people

asked answered that they never use skincare products. 9% of the people said that

they only use skincare products on special occasions. Only 4 people (1%) used

skincare products only on the weekend. 13% of the informants said that they use

the skincare products rarely. The rest of the correspondents (73%) use skincare

products daily in the morning and/or at night.

Figure 5. Respondents’ frequency of using skincare products.

19%

5%

5%

79%

0%

Employed

Self-employed

Unemployed

Student

Retired

4%

9% 1%

13%

73%

Never

Special occasions

Weekends only

Rarely

Everyday/ Every night

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3.6.5 Respondents’ frequency of using make-up cosmetic products

The question clarified the frequency of using make-up products of the informants.

14% of the answers was never, indicating no usage of make-up products ever.

11% of the correspondents do their make-up on special occasions only. The pro-

portion of respondents who use do their make-up only on the weekend was 2%.

14% of the people asked rarely do their make-up. Meanwhile, 59% of the inform-

ants answered everyday/ every night.

Figure 6. Respondents’ frequency of using make-up products.

3.6.6 The amount of money that consumers are willing to spend on

cosmetic products monthly

The question aimed to identify the amount of money that the informants were will-

ing to spend on buying cosmetic products monthly. The answer varies by the

amount. 11% of the respondents were willing to spend up to € 4,99 per month on

cosmetic products. The proportion of people spent maximum € 9,99 monthly was

17%. 23% of the informants answered that € 14,99 is the biggest amount they

were willing to use to purchase products in the same category. With the maximum

amount of €19,99, € 24,99 and more than euros per month, the percentage of the

informants were relatively the same at about 14 to 15%. 6% of the people could

not estimate the amount of money.

14%

11%

2%

14%

59%

Never

Special occasions

Weekends only

Rarely

Everyday/ Every night

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Figure 7. The amount of money that consumers are willing to spend on cosmetic products monthly.

3.6.7 Respondents’ awareness of South Korean cosmetic products

This question helped to determine the informants’ awareness of South Korean

cosmetic products. 54% of the respondents (228 people) said that they have never

heard of them. 37% of the people answered that they have heard of them once in

while. Only 9% of the people are very knowledgeable of cosmetic products from

South Korea.

Figure 8. Respondents’ awareness of South Korean cosmetic products.

11%

17%

23%

14%

15%

14%

6%

€ 0,00—€ 4,99

€ 5,00—€ 9,99

€ 10,00—€ 14,99

€ 15,00—€ 19,99

€ 20,00—€ 24,99

€ 25,00 or more

Cannot say

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

54%

37%

9%

No, I have never heard of them

Yes, I have heard of them sometimes

Yes, I am very knowledgable about them

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3.6.8 Respondents' use and attitudes of South Korean cosmetic products

This question was not showed to the correspondents who have answered “No, I

have never heard of them” in question 7. The question helped to show if Korean

cosmetic products have spread their visibilities to the Finnish market. That left only

196 answers to this question.

Out of 196 informants, 18% of them have incorporated the Korean products into

their routine. 70% of them (137 people) have not used any products but they are

interested in trying. 12% of the informants (23 people) have not tried any products

and they also show no interest in trying.

Figure 9. Respondents’ use and attitudes towards South Korean cosmetic prod-ucts.

3.6.9 Reasons why respondents were hesitant to incorporate South Korean

cosmetic products into their routines

This question was open to three categories of informants including 228 people

who answered “No, I have never heard of them” in question 7, 137 people who

answered “No, but I am interested in trying” and 23 people who answered “No,

and I am not interested in trying”. Since 338 informants have not been exposed to

the products or have the intention to try, it is crucial to understand the reasons

18%

70%

12%

Yes,I do use some Korean cosmetic products in myroutine

No, but I am interested in trying

No, and I am not interested in trying

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why. As correspondent could choose more than 1 answer, the percentage indi-

cates the commonness of the reason.

It can be seen clearly that the main reason was because the respondents did not

know where to buy the products. The next two common reasons were due to in-

formants’ lack of trust of the quality of foreign products and their strong beliefs in

the effect of the current products they are using. The price tag seems to have low

effect on the decision of choosing to use the products. Other reasons were then

specified by the informants.

The report containing the full comments of the informants for other reasons can be

found in the appendix.

After analysing the results from the specified answers, the common reasons given

by the informants varied. Most consumers want to support the Finnish cosmetic

industry by purchasing “made in Finland” products. At the same time, they feel that

using domestic products will help them to prevent any chances of using cosmetic

products with toxic ingredients or unsafe materials. Another big issue mentioned

was the correspondents wanted to use products which were test ethically, indicat-

ing cruelty-freeness is a very important aspect in their criteria. Other reasons

mainly dealt with product origin transparency, product availability and personal

preference.

Figure 10. Reasons why respondents were hesitant to incorporate South Korean cosmetic products into their routines.

23%

7%

39%

55%

43%

Other, please specify

I want to try but the price is a bit too high for me

I want to stick to my current trustworthy products

I don't know where to buy Korean products

I am not sure about the quality of foreign products

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3.6.10 Respondents’ general opinions about Korean cosmetic products

This question was only available to the respondent if they chose “Yes, I do use

some Korean cosmetic products in my routine” in question 9. The question was

optional; therefore, informant could choose to skip the question. The motive of the

question was to find out respondents’ general opinions towards South Korean

cosmetic products. There were 141 submissions in total. The full comments can

be found in the appendix.

Even though each of the 141 comments was completely different, after processing

the comments, several repeated points were drawn up. In each point, a comment

from the survey result is presented.

Overall quality. The most common issue posed in the comments was the fact that

most consumers have heard a very good reputation of South Korean products,

whether through self knowledge, social media channels or words of mouth.

In my view, the South Korean cosmetic products are good quality and really popular worldwide. Korean women see a lot of trouble of their appearance, so their products cannot be very bad.1

Both respondents who have tried or have not used the products mostly claim that

the quality seems to be good, trustworthy and effective and innovative. In most

cases, they claim that they have perceived of a positive image of the South Kore-

an industry that is leading the world with their functional and interesting products.

At the same time, there are comments depicting the opposite, claiming South Ko-

rean cosmetic products to be low quality. Some respondents showed concerns

because they do not think products made outside Europe can have a good quality

or can be tested in accordance to European cosmetic safety standards. Others

showed knowledge about the long ingredient list indicating “toxic components”

might be included in the formula:

1 Original text: “Käsitykseni mukaan Etelä-Korealaiset kosmetiikkatuotteet ovat hyvälaatuisia ja maailmalla todella suosittuja. Korealaiset naiset näkevät paljon vaivaa ulkonäkönsä vuoksi, joten heidän tuotteensa eivät voi olla kovin huonoja.”

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The ingredients of products ordered from outside Europe cannot be assured and I have heard horror stories about Asian cosmetic prod-ucts that contain, for example, lead and other toxics. I could try the products if they were found to be safe by local authorities and the product ingredients would be clearly displayed.2

Interest. The second most common point that informants mentioned was about

their interests in trying the products.

Although another question in the questionnaire has identified this issue, informants

still expressed their willingness to try out South Korean cosmetic products. It can

be understood that consumers want to try out some of the products so that they

can develop their own judgement and experiences themselves. At the same time,

correspondents shared main reasons holding them back from testing the products

were product unavailability, lack of knowledge, bad access to the products, skin

and allergy concerns and the high prices of Korean products in Finland.

There is not much to say because I do not know how to use them. I just heard they are very good quality and I would be interested to try them.3

Products’ aspects. The third most common issue posed in the answers of re-

spondents was about the different aspects of the South Korean cosmetic products.

First of all, respondents showed their concerns about the ingredients of the prod-

ucts. Doubts about the quality as well as the function of the ingredients were the

main concerns. Additionally, respondents also make a claim that they would be

more willing to use the products contain natural-derived and/or organic ingredients

(such as Whamisa) or the sources of the ingredients are well-inspected by the au-

thorities.

Secondly, cosmetic consumers in Finland are highly aware of animal right move-

ment associated with their choice of products. Many shared the reason why they

2 Original text:” Euroopan ulkopuolelta tilattujen tuotteiden sisällöstä ei voi olla varma ja olenkin kuullut kauhutarinoita aasialaisista kosmetiikkatuotteista, joissa on esimerkiksi lyijyä ja muita myrkkyjä. Voisin kokeilla tuotteita, jos ne olisi todettu paikallisten viranomaisten toimesta turvallisiksi ja tuotesisältö olisi selkeästi esillä.” 3 Original text: “Ei ole paljon sanomista, koska en ole tietääkseni käyttänyt niitä. Olen vain kuullut, että ne ovat erittäin hyvälaatuisia ja minua kiinnostaisi kokeilla niitä.”

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hesitate to use products from South Korea or other foreign countries was due to

the fact that the products were tested on animals:

I have not tried it myself because I doubt their functionality. I support organic and non-animal-tested cosmetics.4

Thirdly, an aspect that received a lot of mixed comments on was regarding the

price of South Korean cosmetic products. Answers were either tell the products

are cheap to buy or too expensive to purchase. However, the comments telling the

South Korean products are too expensive mainly associate with the high price of

them in the Finnish retailing stores.

Lastly, packaging of the South Korean cosmetic products was being discussed by

the informants. Most comments showed positive judgement towards the packag-

ing, claiming them to be nice, eye-pleasing and inviting:

(The texture is) thinner than that of Western products. They are not for example dry as much. The packaging is more pleasing to the eye. I like more of South Korean cosmetics than Western ones.5

3.6.11 Aspects of a cosmetic product that respondents care about

The aim of the question is to find out the aspects that the respondents look at the

most when they use or purchase any cosmetic products. Since the correspondents

could choose multiple options, the percentage depicts the commonness of the as-

pects.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that quality, ingredients and price were amongst the

most concerned aspects when choosing a product. The origin, packaging, brand

name and the popularity of the product were considered less important to the in-

formants. In addition, informants got the chance to specify their own thoughts.

4 Original text: “En ole itse kokeillut, sillä epäilen niiden toimivuutta. Kannatan luonnonmukaisia ja eläimillä

testaamatonta kosmetiikkaa.” 5 Original text: “Hellävaraisempia iholle kuin länsimaalaiset tuotteet. Eivät esim. kuivata yhtä paljon. Pakkaukset ovat silmälle miellyttävämpiä. Pidän enemmän Etelä-Korealaisesta kosmetiikasta kuin länsimaalaisesta.”

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Those aspects were cruelty-freeness, environmental-friendliness, whether the

product is vegan and/ or is fitting to their skins.

Figure 11. Aspects of a cosmetic product that respondents care about the most.

13%

11%

75%

14%

20%

63%

14%

90%

Other, please specify

The popularity of the product

Price

Brand name

Country of manufacturing

Ingredients and formulas

Packaging

Quality

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35

4 BUSINESS PLAN

4.1 Executive summary

Blaf Oy is a webstore based in Finland focusing on selling cosmetic products from

South Korea. The main objectives of the store do not include traditional selling mo-

tives but also giving the Finnish consumers an access to high quality cosmetic

products from other countries, raising their voices as the customers by providing

them with a community to express their wishes.

The founder is a cosmetic enthusiast who have been studying about e-commerce

and has personal interests in establishing a different retailing platform where cus-

tomers are the centre of the emphasis.

The company is going to be registered on December 1st, 2018 and officially starts

operation in January 2019 in Helsinki, Finland.

Expected gross sales of the company is about 130,000 euros in the first year.

4.2 General company description

Founding. The company is founded in order to make Korean cosmetic products

more accessible to consumers in Finland. It works as the bridge to introduce func-

tional, affordable, high quality and beneficial products to the Finnish markets with

the belief that Asian cosmetic products deserve a chance to impress the users and

prove their functionality. The line of business is Other retail sale via mail order

houses and net commerce (47919). The company is based in Helsinki, Finland.

Missions. It is the company’s aim to provide accessibility to Korean cosmetic

products to consumers in Finland without them worrying about the cost, quality

and availability of the products. The idea behind the company is the fact that per-

sonal beauty care can cross the geographical boundaries. With that said, if a

product is truly serving the customer well enough, it should deserve the chance to

be used and tested by anyone who are interested.

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As a result, the company is created to be a webstore based in Finland focusing on

importing and representing Korean cosmetic products and brands. The company

does not only focus on selling and introducing products, it also works as a mutual

environment for cosmetic users and enthusiasts to express their judgements, feel-

ings and wishes towards the personal and beauty care related issues.

Objectives. The main objectives of the company are addressed as follows:

– Achieve 25% of the market share of online Korean cosmetics retailing in

Finland within the first three years.

– Sales...

– Becoming a transparent sale channel where consumers can shop for

products with trust and certainty.

– Building a community where consumers have the rights to share their

opinions, feelings and requests upon Korean cosmetic products specifi-

cally and the personal and beauty care industry in general.

4.3 Establishment and legal responsibilities

Legal form. The legal form of the company is a private limited company. As it is

required, at least one founder must possess the permanent residency in the Euro-

pean Economic Area. The founder is also the only shareholder at the present of

the company. The founder welcomes all potential shareholders who possess the

mutual interest in the development of the business at any time in the future.

Establishment registration. According to the Finnish Business Information Sys-

tem (BIS), the company is required to be registered in the Trade Register main-

tained by the Finnish Patent and Registration office (PRH). Along with that, a start-

up notification must be submitted to the Tax Administration’s system. However,

only a single notification must be sent to BIS. After that, the company should be

able to acquire a business ID.

Finnish Tax Administration (2019) advices that the company register in the pre-

payment register so that future procedures are easy to be proceeded.

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Since the company plans on employ at least 2 employees permanently, it is

obliged to be a regular employer, hence, it is required that the company register in

the employer register.

After verifying using the Business start-up wizard service of Suomi.fi, it is said that

the company does not have to obtain any permits nor professional qualifications

for the industries selected.

Insurance responsibilities. According to Varma, the Finnish laws require that the

employers provide insurances for the employees in the following categories:

– Pension

– Occupational accident and disease

– Group life insurance

– Unemployment and health

Specifically, in the case of this business, the founder is also the Chief Executive

Officer and hence, she is required to take a pension insurance under the Self-

employed Persons’ Pensions Act (Elo 2018, 3). Additionally, since the company

has plans to employ at least two employees permanently with the salary for each

employee is at least € 59,36 per month, the company is required to insure its em-

ployees with the pension provisions under the Employee’s Pension Act.

4.4 Management and organisation

Company structure.

Figure 12. Company’s structure

Board of directors

ManagerPurchase and

Logistics

ManagerMarketing and

Sales

ManagerResearch and Development

ManagerAdministration

and Finance

Managing director

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4.5 Products and services

Cosmetic product online retailing. The company is an online retailer that offers

a wide range of cosmetic products imported from South Korean manufacturers.

Additionally, the company also acts as an official distributor of their products in

Finland. Customers get a quick access to Korean cosmetic products at a reasona-

ble price without having to worry about the authenticity or product quality regarding

European standards. Product categories include:

– Facial and body skincare products

– Make-up products

– Cosmetic accessories products

Besides being an electronic market, the webstore presents itself as a community

where consumers can express their opinions, wishes and feelings about beauty

care, cosmetic products and other related issues.

Community. Most of the stores these days try to build up a community work as a

part of customer loyalty program. The meaning of the community is to retain cus-

tomers as well as provide them with a place to raise their voice. The community

can be a great platform to collect customer’s demands, wishes, complaints and

purchasing pattern. Since a part of the marketing plan is not focusing too much on

showing off the store but more on customers’ own willingness to introduce one and

another to the webstore (word of mouth), marketing investment will be used mostly

for the IT development and maintenance of the online community.

Customers who sign up for a membership are entitled to have an account which

can be used to perform different tasks on the community including commenting on

products, sharing reviews and provide wishes on certain products or features that

they want.

Advertisement services for brands and companies. Owning a community

means that the company gets access to a concrete number of audiences. This

provides the chance for the company to run advertisements freely on the web-

store, hence, gain customers’ awareness towards marketed products. These ser-

vices also gain the company’s connections towards the brands and cosmetic

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39

manufacturers who wish to introduce their products to Finnish customers. Adver-

tisements can come in different forms, from company’s commercials to blog posts

about featured products. The advertisements are customized according to the

company’s wishes. Advertisement services work mainly as the cost securing man-

agement driver for the operation of the company.

4.6 Market and competition

Market description. According to the Finnish Cosmetic, Toiletry and Detergent

Association (2017), the market size of the Finnish cosmetics market is about 900

million euros. Market trends are reported to be natural-sourced beauty products,

personalized experience and digital engagement. From the report of Nielsen and

the empirical study, it can be seen that customers are now more and more con-

cerned about how they can utilize the products to reveal their beauty rather than

using products to fake the unauthentic flawlessness. Significantly, they show an

increase interest in products marked with organic-sourced or natural-derived in-

gredients. As a result, they shift their focus on products’ transparency by spending

time reading and educating themselves to be more familiarized with the ingredient

list or products’ implications. In addition to that, customers value the quality and

the effectiveness of the products on themselves more than the products’ virality.

As a consequence, digital engagement is expected to play a great role in shifting

the way consumers purchase cosmetic products. Buying cosmetic products online

means that consumers have more time to research the products, evaluate their

transparency in order to find the precise products faster for their needs and condi-

tions.

Target customers. The target customers of our company, according to the empir-

ical study, would be consumers who:

– Are women aged 18 to 45 years old

– Live in Finland

– Have access to the Internet

– Are currently studying or working

– Are willing to spend at least 100 euros on cosmetics product annually

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– Have some or intensive knowledge about beauty care in general and Ko-

rean beauty care specifically.

Target partners. The target partners that the company wishes to work with in-

cludes South Korean cosmetic manufacturers and suppliers all over the world who

have planned on introducing and featuring their products in the Finnish cosmetic

market. They are also companies and research companies who want to test their

product awareness in the European consumer market or export their products to

the potential target customers.

The target partners are essentially required to be honest and clear in doing busi-

ness in an international environment. Their aims and missions in the cosmetic in-

dustry must meet the company’s general ideas and beliefs. It is the company’s

hopes to be able to build a highly effective and trustworthy retail environment

which provides the customers with what they truly look for and trust to use without

damaging the environment or natural resources.

Unique selling point. The unique selling point of the company is not making Ko-

rean cosmetic products look like as if they are too expensive to afford. From the

questionnaire, it can be seen that Korean cosmetic products have existed in Fin-

land. However, due to the high price tag of the products, many consumers cannot

get access to them, hence, build up a bias towards Korean cosmetic products as

expensive and luxurious while they are actually not. The concept of introducing the

products to the consumers is through acquiring a distribution right from the original

manufacturers. As a result, we are able to control the sources and origins of the

selections of the products. At the same time, we can assure the products imported

satisfy the European safety regulation standards, hence, the customers can pur-

chase the products with the peace in mind.

Competitors. At the moment, in the Finnish market, there exist some players such

as Beautyko, Bearel and Kokoskin. These are all webstores based in Finland, fo-

cusing on selling Korean cosmetic products only. The webstores are not old play-

ers in the market as they are recently founded in Finland. None of them has been

an official distributor of any Korean cosmetic brands. Each store carry from 15 to

20 brands, which is very subtle since there are a lot of other brands. All three

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41

stores assure the customers by claiming they only carry high quality products reg-

istered in Cosmetic Products Notification Portal and expressing their mission of

helping customers gain access to K-beauty.

4.7 Marketing and sales

Pricing strategy. A quick comparison of the opponents’ price mark-up strategy is

described by comparing the price of the product Benton Snail Bee High Content

Skin Toner 150 ml manufactured in Korea by Benton Cosmetics.

Figure 13. The price of the Snail Bee High Content Skin Toner 150 ml on their offi-cial eBay selling site.

Benton distributes their products via eBay to individual customers at € 17,60 in-

cluding worldwide free shipping. Meanwhile, the mark-ups as percentage of selling

price of the same product in the three mentioned webstores is calculated using

formulae (1), where the cost is set to be € 17,60. The results are showed as fol-

lows:

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42

Table 14. Comparison of selling price and price mark-up of the three competitors of the Snail Bee High Content Skin Toner 150 ml (VAT 24%)

It can be clearly seen that, if an individual customer makes an order on Benton

Cosmetics’ official eBay, he or she will save at least € 11,25 for the same product.

If they purchase from one of those three webstores, the benefits gained are the

fact that the product has passed through European standards control system and

they might be able to receive the product sooner. However, consumers’ attitudes

may change if they do a little bit of research and find out how much more they

have to pay for the same product. As mentioned in the empirical study, corre-

spondents express the interests in using Korean cosmetic products, however, the

high mark-up of these products confuses them, making them believe that Korean

cosmetic products are expensive and inaccessible from Finland.

Therefore, in order to compete fiercely on price, the company sets its price mark-

up at 45% at the beginning. However, in order to serve the mission of the web-

store as a bridge to connect Finnish consumers to the Korean cosmetic products,

we offer a competitive edge of free shipping for all orders.

Another tactic is including customer loyalty into the pricing strategy by giving back

credits to the customers. The tactic is called conventional loyalty programme by

Butscher (2016, 111) as it lays focus on the target groups and their online activi-

ties. This means that with every purchase, customer will receive 5% of the value of

the whole purchase under the form of credits. These credit points can be used for

the next purchase. The tactic gives the customers the sense that they always re-

ceive something extra in return when they buy and hence, it improves customer

loyalty level of our store.

Additionally, the credits can only be earned if the customer signs up to be a mem-

ber without any fee. Allowing the customer to obtain a membership enables them

ResellerSales

price

Price

without VAT

Shipping

fee

Price

mark-up

Profit

margin

Total

price

Beautyko € 23,95 € 18,20 € 4,90 36,07 % 26,51 % € 28,85

Bearel € 27,80 € 21,13 € 4,49 57,95 % 36,69 % € 32,29

Kokoskin € 24,95 € 18,96 € 4,95 41,76 % 29,45 % € 29,90

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43

to collect their credits and use them for any later purchases. Members can also

obtain credits by reviewing only products they have purchased directly on the

webstore to the community. Therefore, customers receive something in return for

their review; at the same time, other consumers receive honest reviews and real

feedbacks to help them make the buying decision on certain products.

4.8 Research and development

Since the operation of the company does not include any direct production of

goods, research and development on product is not the company’s main concerns.

However, working as an online retail platform, it is essential to develop a better

webstore with a set of functions to execute customers’ requests and perform buy-

ing activities.

Research process will be executed concerning the development of an automated

customer services. The service includes a live chat bot which can detects custom-

er’s problems with the purchasing process or after-purchase process and assists

them to solve the problems. The merits of the chat bot are that it reduces the need

of human resources for customer service and it allows customers to contact the

store for help at any time of the day. Because the foundation of the live chat bot is

based on artificial intelligence, it takes time and a lot of informative technology

knowledge in order to develop and finalise the final system for use.

4.9 Purchase and logistics

As the cosmetic products that the company sells are the goods imported from the

foreign manufacturers, it is extremely important to take into account the purchase

and logistics process.

As for the purchase process, prior discussions related to the types, quantities and

costs of the imported goods must be made with the Korean manufacturers. Since

the office of the company is also used as the storage of the products, the company

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44

has to keep track of the stock before purchasing to make sure that there is enough

space in the office to store the goods.

In order to make the purchase process become an effective strategy supporting

the sales of the company, some certain products will be purchased only when

there are enough interests from the customers. Therefore, those products will be

presented on the website, customers (only members) can vote for the products

and hence pre-order the products. If the quantity shows potential to be sold in the

market, the order to the manufacture will be made. If there is not enough demand

for the product, the purchased amounts will then be refunded to the members.

This tactic allows the company to prevent ineffective purchases and at the same

time, measures and determines trendy products and customers’ demands.

Between the company and the Korean manufacturers, the company has fewer

human resources, therefore, in order to make the transporting process of the

goods fast, safe and effective, the incoterm chosen is Delivered At Place. With this

method, the seller takes care of the delivery responsibilities of the goods and

makes sure that the goods arrive at the agreed location in Finland. At the same

time, they will be responsible for the risks and the costs associated with the

transport of the goods. Costs, taxes, other official charges and custom formalities

will be taken care of by the company (the buyer).

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4.10 Financial plan

4.10.1 Financial requirements and funding sources

Table 15. The required expenditure to start running the business.

Table 16. The sources of the funding for the company’s establishment.

Expenditure requirements cost per month EUR

Registration fee in the Trade Register 380,00

Deposit for the office 1 000,00

Marketing investment 300,00

Advanced stock purchases 2 000,00

Working capital (for 2 months) 9 620,00

Wages 2 550,00

Social cost 1 020,00

YEL-insurance 423,00

Other indirect employee cost 38,25

Other staff costs 54,17

Costs associated with the office 555,42

Marketing costs 58,33

Administrative services 40,00

Communication and banking services 30,00

Office supplies 16,67

Other costs 24,16

Total 13 300,00

EUR

7 300,00

6 000,00

13 300,00

Funding sources

Capital investment from the angle investors

Capital investment from the owner

Total

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46

4.10.2 Sales estimate

Table 17. The sales estimate of the company from year 2019 to 2021.

The sale estimate is drawn up using sales forecast. The percentage of price

change is set to be 3% each year. According to Työeläke.fi (2019), the YEL-

percentage for the employer is 24,1% as she is 21 years old at the time the busi-

ness is established. However, since she is a new employer, the founder is quali-

fied to receive a 22% discount for 48 months, thus, the YEL percentage will be

only 18,8%. Therefore, the YEL insurance is € 5076 calculated from a confirmed

income from self-employment of € 27,000 annually.

Particulars Year 2019 Year 2020 Year 2021

1. Revenue from operation

Gross sale of cosmetic products 132 704,00 136 685,12 140 785,67

Discount 2 552,00 2 628,56 2 707,42

Cost of goods sold 91 520,00 94 265,60 97 093,57

Profit of cosmetic products 38 632,00 39 790,96 40 984,69

Sale of advertisment services 32 258,00 33 225,74 34 222,51

Net sales (turnover/total revenue) 70 890,00 73 016,70 75 207,20

2. Expenses

Cost of premise 6 665,00 6 864,95 7 070,90

wages 30 600,00 31 518,00 32 463,54

Social costs 12 240,00 12 607,20 12 985,42

YEL insurance 5 076,00 5 228,28 5 385,13

Other indirect employee cost 459,00 472,77 486,95

Other staff cost 650,00 669,50 689,59

marketing cost 700,00 721,00 742,63

Administrative services 480,00 494,40 509,23

Communication and banking services 360,00 370,80 381,92

Office supplies 200,00 206,00 212,18

Total expenses 57 430,00 59 152,90 60 927,49

Earning before tax 13 460,00 13 863,80 14 279,71

Tax (20% of profit) 3 202,40 3 298,47 3 397,43

Net income 10 257,60 10 565,33 10 882,29

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5 CONCLUSION

5.1 The possibility of establishing the business

Through out the research and analysis of the findings, it is highly likely that the

establishment of the business is possible due to several reasons.

Supportive environment and condition. The Finnish government as well as oth-

er associations have been providing entrepreneurs and foreign entrepreneurs with

multiple tools and guidance in order to make doing business in Finland become a

fascinating challenge. The nature of the business environment is honest, support-

ive and encouraging while offering opportunities to grow based on its drastic e-

commerce growth utilizing digitalization achievements.

Consumers’ attitudes and buying intentions. From what the correspondents

addressed, it can be seen that the attitudes towards South Korean cosmetic prod-

ucts are moderately positive. Positive attitudes mainly derive from consumers’ own

information researching and retrieving process. Negative concerns are mostly de-

veloped from personal affection or beliefs. A negative attitude stands out from the

comments is Finnish consumers’ belief in moral practices in product testing proce-

dures of companies, hence, they show a strong objection to products that have

been tested on animal. From the survey, it does show that some purchasing pat-

terns of cosmetic products of Finnish consumers are the result of their behaviour-

ally based attitudes, indicating that, their attitudes towards cosmetic products at

the beginning are weak and undetermined. As a result, some consumers express

hesitation for foreign products as they have always been purchasing made-in-

Finland products for a long period of time.

It is hard to say if consumers will purchase any of the South Korean cosmetic

products in the future as attitudes do not give information to predict consumers’

behaviours. However, correspondents have expressed directly their interests and

buying intentions for the products in the future provided that access to them is

available through out different distribution channels.

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48

After all, it can be seen that the demand for South Korean cosmetic products is

rising significantly as consumers are more open towards different product selec-

tions on the market. The market is highly educated and they themselves are more

and more aware of different aspects of the products, hence, they consider thor-

ough before making the purchase decision. Specifically, in the Finnish market,

consumers are highly responsible of what they use and their potential damage to

the environment and its habitants including animals and other creatures. On the

other hand, Finnish consumers are also smart spenders, favouring products which

put foremost the values they create in the long term.

5.2 The necessary resources

Establishing a business in Finland, despite of the incentives and the ideal business

environment given, still requires proper planning. In order to create a good busi-

ness that focuses on creating values to the society, different issues have to be

taken into account concerning the essential elements of a business plan.

Establishing a business that sells and markets cosmetic products requires the en-

trepreneur’s sensitivity, knowledge and creativity to understand what the trends

are, the attitudes of customers and the changing elements within the industry.

Making a profit should never be the priority but generating valuable shopping ex-

perience for customers from learning about their needs, wishes and beliefs. Apart

from that, it is very important to implement an advanced information technology

system in order to utilize the digitalization movement of global trades so that each

purchase is delivered with trust, personal information protection and harmless

footprints.

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49

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1. The content of the online questionnaire

APPENDIX 2. Correspondents’ answers given into free text field for question 9

APPENDIX 3. Correspondents’ answers to question 10

APPENDIX 4. Correspondents’ answers given into free text field for question 11

APPENDIX 5. Author’s letter to the correspondents

APPENDIX 6. Email to Jelppari to confirm the number of receivers of the email

sent by the author

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APPENDIX 1. The content of the online questionnaire

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APPENDIX 2. Correspondents’ answers given into free text field for question 9

Option

names Text

Other,

please

specify

En ole koskaan kuullut Etelä-Korealaisista kosmetiikkatuotteista.

Other,

please

specify

En käytä

Other,

please

specify

Herkkä iho, enkä tiedä saisinko tuotteista allergista rektiota

Other,

please

specify

En ole kuullut niistä

Other,

please

specify

Suosin luonnonkosmetiikkaa ihonhoidossa, enkä tiedä onko korealainen

kosmetiikka sitä.

Other,

please

specify

Suosin kotimaista

Other,

please

specify

they are not as simple as i wouls like them to be.

Other,

please

specify

Olen mies

Other,

please

specify

Paikallisissa kaupoissa ei tietääkseni ole Etelä-Korealaisia tuotteita

Other,

please Eivät ole tuttuja minulle

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6(27)

specify

Other,

please

specify

Haluan olla varma, ettei tuotetta ole testattu eläimillä. Myös eettisyys ja

ekologisuus on minulle tärkeää. Mielestäni ei ole kauhean ympäristöystävällistä

kuljettaa kosmetiikkaa Suomeen toiselta puolelta maapalloa.

Other,

please

specify

Kotimaisuus, ekologisuus, eettisyys ja eläimillä testaamattomuus ovat minulle

tärkeitä. Haluan tietää, mistä tuote on lähtöisin.

Other,

please

specify

I don’t know much about them so I don’t really know

what’s good and what is not

Other,

please

specify

Suosin kotimaisia ja turvallisia, sekä luonnonkosmetiikkaa olevia tuotteita. Olen

myös aika herkkä hajusteille ja esim. Whamisan tuotteissa liian voimakas

tuoksu.

Other,

please

specify

Availability in Finnish shops

Other,

please

specify

En käytä ihonhoitoon muuta kuin aurinkorasvaa kesäisin

Other,

please

specify

En käytä

Other,

please

specify

ei ole vain tullut ostaneeksi

Other,

please

specify

Käytän harvoin niin asiaan panostaminen vaikuttaa kaukaa haetulta

Other,

please

specify

En tunne kyseisiä tuotteita

Other,

please En tiedä tuotteita

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7(27)

specify

Other,

please

specify

Eivät taida olla cruelty free? Se ois tärkeetä.

Other,

please

specify

Suosin suomalaista

Other,

please

specify

itselle oikeanlaisten tuotteiden valinta vaikeaa

Other,

please

specify

Tuotteet eivät ole minulle tuttuja ja en tiedä sopivatko ne iholleni. En tiedä ovatko

tuotteet allergistestatuja.

Other,

please

specify

En tiedä mitä Etelä-Korealsisia tuotteita on olemassa

Other,

please

specify

Pyrin suosimaan kotimaista kosmetiikkaa

Other,

please

specify

Haluan ostaa kotimaisia tuotteita

Other,

please

specify

Tuotteiden turvallisuus epäilyttää

Other,

please

specify

Haluan tukea paikallisia luomuyrityksiä

Other,

please

specify

Tarvitsisin suosituksia, mitä tuotteita kannattaisi ostaa.

Other,

please Omat allergiat

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8(27)

specify

Other,

please

specify

En pidä E-Korealaisuutta tärkeänä

Other,

please

specify

En käytä kosmetiikkaa

Other,

please

specify

en käytä kosmetiikkaa muutenkaan

Other,

please

specify

Käytän vain apteekin kasvovoiteita

Other,

please

specify

En käytä mitään tuotteita

Other,

please

specify

Olen niin herkkä hajusteille ja eri aineille, etten uskalla kokeilla uusia asioita

Other,

please

specify

Tuotteiden alkuperämaalla ei ole minulle juurikaan väliä. Mieluiten ostaisin

kuitenkin kotimaista ja eettistä.

Other,

please

specify

En osaa valita oikeita tuotteita tarpeisiini

Other,

please

specify

En käytä meikkejä muutenkaan

Other,

please

specify

Haluan tukea myös suomalaista kosmetiikkateollisuutta

Other,

please En tunne niitä tarpeeksi hyvin, että tietäisin mitä ostaa

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specify

Other,

please

specify

suosin suomalaista kosmetiikkaa

Other,

please

specify

En käytä mitään tuotteita

Other,

please

specify

En tiedä niiden olemassaolosta

Other,

please

specify

en käytä

Other,

please

specify

I have not been in need to search for cosmetic products

Other,

please

specify

Hieman huonompi saatavuus Suomessa

Other,

please

specify

Ne ovat epäillyttäviä

Other,

please

specify

En ole varma onko tuotteet testattu eettisesti oikein

Other,

please

specify

En käytä kuin käsirasvaa tai kasvojenhoitoainetta silloin tällöin.

Other,

please

specify

Jos tuotteet eivät ole vegaanisia tai ne ovat testattuja eläimillä.

Other,

please Eläinkokeet

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10(27)

specify

Other,

please

specify

Tuotteiden saatavuus paikkakunnalla on huono

Other,

please

specify

Suosin kotimaista

Other,

please

specify

Haluan myös suosia suomalaista.

Other,

please

specify

olen löytänyt itselleni sopivat tuotteet, joten miksi vaihtaa.

Other,

please

specify

En käytä juuri mitään kosmetiikkatuotteita.

Other,

please

specify

En ole vielä ostanut

Other,

please

specify

käytän ylensäkin vähän

Other,

please

specify

Olen epävarma eläinten käyttämisestä testeissä. En hyväksy sitä.

Other,

please

specify

En käytä mitään

Other,

please

specify

Saatavuus Suomeen vielä huono

Other,

please Uudet tuotteet saattavat ärsyttää ihoa

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11(27)

specify

Other,

please

specify

Hajusteyliherkkyys

Other,

please

specify

Epäilen, että niitä saatetaan testata eläinkokeilla.

Other,

please

specify

I have to buy these product on webstores or go to bigger City to find these prod-

uct.

Other,

please

specify

En ole huomannut niitä missään olevan

Other,

please

specify

Eläimillä testaus

Other,

please

specify

Euroopassa ja Suomessa myytävät tuotteet on testattu ja niiden sisältö on

varmasti turvallinen. Euroopan ulkopuolelta tilattujen tuotteiden sisällöstä ei voi

olla varma ja olenkin kuullut kauhutarinoita aasialaisista kosmetiikkatuotteista,

joissa on esimerkiksi lyijyä ja muita myrkkyjä.

Other,

please

specify

pyrin valitsemaan kotimaisen tuotteen ja tarvitsen hajuttomat tuotteet

homesairastumisen vuoksi

Other,

please

specify

Suosin kotimaisia tuotteita

Other,

please

specify

en tiedä korealaisia tuotteita.

Other,

please

specify

En välitä kosmetiikkatuotteista ylipäätään, ihan sama mistä ne ovat

Other, Käytän kosmetiikkatuotteita vain erittäin harvoin, ja en tiennyt, että korealaisia

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please

specify

tuotteita myydään Suomessa.

Other,

please

specify

markkinointi ja mainonta eivät ole saavuttaneet minua. jos luotettava taho myisi,

voisin ostaa.

Other,

please

specify

Suomessa on anime/manga coneissa ollut myynnissä korealaista kosmetiikkaa,

mutta en ole vielä päässyt kokeilemaan

Other,

please

specify

en tiedä mitkä tuotteet ovat minkäkin maalaisia, koska valitsen tuotteet muilla

perusteilla

Other,

please

specify

Käytän, mitä tyttöystävä suosittelee. Ei ole tullut kyseisiä tuotteita vastaan.

Other,

please

specify

Suosin lähituotantoa, eli nyt suomalaista kosmetiikkaa.

Other,

please

specify

Pyrin käyttämään ainoastaan Vegan ja Cruelty free merkattuja tuotteita, en tiedä

kuin tietyt merkit, enkä ole törmännyt ainakaan tietääkseni(?) Etelä-Korealaisiin

vastaaviin tuotteisiin

Other,

please

specify

en tunne tuotteita tarpeeksi, joten en tiedä mitä ostaa/käyttää

Other,

please

specify

If there are anti-rash skin creams, I'm all for it.

Other,

please

specify

Käytän vain vähän kosmetiikkaa, jonka pitää olla cruelty-free ja valmistus eettistä

sekä ekologista, tuoteketjun pitää olla mahdollisimman läpinäkyvä.

Other,

please

specify

En ole tietoinen käyttämieni tuotteiden valmistusmaasta.

Other, En tiennyt että sellaisia on

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please

specify

Other,

please

specify

haluan suosia kotimaista ja luomua

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APPENDIX 3. Correspondents’ answers to question 10

Responses

The Korean skincare is very developed. This I believe it is very effective.

Vaikuttavat mielenkiintoisilta ja hyviltä. Haluaisin kokeilla.

Paljon edellä länsimaalaisia kosmetiikkatuotteita, kiinnostavia ja innovaatisia

Hyvälaatuisia

Kiinnostaa kyllä, mutta olen niitä ihmisiä joiden pitää saada hypistellä ennen ostopäätöstä.

En juurikaan tilaa kosmetiikkaa netistä, jollei tuote ole ennestään tuttu silloinkin vain siinä

tapauksessa että saan sen tilaamalla edullisemmin tai tuotetta ei ole saatavana paikallisesti.

Kuullut siitä pääosin hyvää, mutta en ole sen enempää perehtynyt aiheeseen. Joten

tietoisuuden lisääminen auttaisi asiaan.

The quality is usually good and there are many different brands with various products

En tiedä niistä juuri mitään.

En kauheana itse niistä tiedä, mutta kavereilta olen kuullut hyvää.

i have heard that they work very well. but they are too expencive and there are too many in-

gredients in those products. i prefer really simple natural cosmetic with only natural ingredi-

ents.

Olen kuullut niiden olevan hyviä. Haluaisin ostaa niitä.

Valkaisevat tuotteet. En tiedä miten Koreassa nykyään mut ainakin Thaimaassa mitään

muutakuin valkaisevia tuotteita löydy kaupan hyllyltä. Myös ylellisyys ja kalleus tulee mieleen.

Kuullut paljon hyvää! Haluaisin kokeilla!

Voisin kokeilla niitä, minulla ei ole kauheasti tietoa aiheesta. Aasialaisesta kosmetiikasta

tulee suomalaisille usein mielikuva Kiinan myrkkytehtaista ja siksi olen utelias ja kiinnostunut

kokeilemaan ja saamaan tietoa ”turvallisista” tuotteista.

Olen jo pitkään katsonut päivittäin kosmetiikka-arvosteluja YouTubessa, ja kuullut Etelä-

Korealaisista tuotteista vain hyvää. Olen itse asunut useamman vuoden Japanissa ja pidin

japanilaisia kosmetiikkatuotteita korkealaatuisina, mikä kasvattaa kiinnostustani myös Etelä-

Korealaista kosmetiikkaa kohtaan.

I like them - mostly I’ve only used masks and products from amore pacific for cleaning

Very interesting but not sure how sensitive skin would react to the complicated routine

Niillä on hyvä maine ja ne ovat kiinnostavia. pakkaukset ja lupaukset ovat houkuttelevia.

I've heard that Korean cosmetic products especially the skincare is very high quality and in-

novative.

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Monet niitä hehkuttaa. Pitäisi itse vielä koittaa, että voisi mielipiteensä sanoa!

Korostavat epäaitoutta, testataan eläimillä, halpoja.

I’m interested in them and they sound very different to what I’m used to but I know too little

about them to buy anything.

Pelkään että ne sisältävät jotain mikä aiheuttaa allergisen reaktion

Sekalainen joukko kaikkea mitä ei tarvitse. Mukana kyllä laadukastakin kosmetiikkaa. Käytän

aika vähän kosmetiikkaa koska vähempi parempi. Arvostan luonnonkosmetiikkaa ja

Whamisa esimerkiksi on hyvin pidetty sarja luonnonkosmetiikkaihmisten parissa.

Positive image. No personal experience

Olen kuullut niistä hyvää

Olen lukenut enemmän niistä kuin käyttänyt. Etelä-Korealainen kosmetiikka on käsitykseni

mukaan maailman parhaita. Ne ovat jokin aika sitten rantautuneet Suomeen, mutta hinnat

ovat tällä hetkellä liian korkeat opiskelijalle. Uskon, että Etelä-Korealaiselle kosmetiikan

nettikaupalle olisi tarvetta ja kiinnostusta.

Todella hyviä tuotteita.

-

Olen kuullut niiden olevan hyviä ja suosittuja.

Etenkin kasvonaamiot on mahtavia

Mielenkiintoisia ja erilaisia

Olen kuullut, että niitä kehutaan paljon. Ymmärtääkseni Etelä-Korealaiset "hallitsevat"

kosmetiikkamarkkinoita.

Ei ole hirveen tuttua, itelle tärkeintä kosmetiikkatuotteita ostaessa on luonnonmukaisuus ja

vegaanius, korealaisella kosmetiikalla aika päinvastainen kaiku omissa mielikuvissa.

osa tuotteita muiden seassa

Ne ovat laadukkaita ja hyviä tuotteita

I was introduced to the Korean cosmetics recently by a friend. I really do find them as high

quality, developed and friendly for a any type of skin

Uskon niiden toimivuuteen, koska Etelä-Korealaiset ovat tunnettuja kauniista ja nuorekkaasta

ihostaan.

Varmasti hyviä ja halpoja mutta tuotteiden laatu mietityttää.

Edullinen hinta, suuret pakkauskoot, suuri määrä vaikuttavia aineita verrattuna länsimaiseen

kosmetiikkaan. Laadukkaampaa. Hienot pakkaukset ja tehokkaat tuotteet.

Hyvälaatuisia, korkea brändi ja luonnollisia

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Ne vaikuttavat laadukkailta ja niissä on yleensä kivat pakkaukset.

Etenkin luonnonkosmetiikan puolella myytävät ovat erinomaisia.

Ei ole paljon sanomista, koska en ole tietääkseni käyttänyt niitä. Olen vain kuullut, että ne

ovat erittäin hyvälaatuisia ja minua kiinnostaisi kokeilla niitä.

Todella laadukkaita, siskoni tuo niitä minulle kun matkustelee Etelä-Koreaan

Tykkään ainakin tähän mennessä käyttämistäni tuotteista. Ne ovat hinta-laatu suhteeltaan

erinomaisia.

Halpoja ja riittoisia

Melko edullisia tuotteita.

Laadukkaita, toimivia..

En osaa sanoa. Esim. kasvonaamioita on kehuttu ja itsekin niitä kokeillu, mutta en tiedä,

tekeekö se minun iholleni mitään.

Laadukkaita ja lupaukset pitäviä.

I honestly dont get information about them

Tällä hetkellä ne ovat suosittuja ja niistä puhutaan paljon.

They seem like very good and I think many people are intrested in

Todella erilaisia verrattuna suomalaiseen kosmetiikkaan. Olen nähnyt jonkin verran

mainoksia niistä, mutta mielestäni niitä pitäisi tuoda enemmän näkyviin.

Olen saanut sen käsityksen että Etelä-Korealainen kosmetiikka on laadukasta ja toimivaa. En

ole silti koittanut itse kuin muutamia naamioita.

Käsitykseni mukaan Etelä-Korealaiset kosmetiikkatuotteet ovat hyvälaatuisia ja maailmalla

todella suosittuja. Korealaiset naiset näkevät paljon vaivaa ulkonäkönsä vuoksi, joten heidän

tuotteensa eivät voi olla kovin huonoja.

Yleinen mielikuva, että ovat laadukkaita.

Ei selvää mielipidettä, en vain tiedä asiasta

Suhtaudun eteläkorealaisiin ihonhoitotuotteisiin samalla tavalla kuin esimerkiksi ranskalaisiin

tai italialaisiin vastaaviin. Eli positiivisesti. Eteläkorealaisten tuotteiden luonnonmukaisuus

kiinnostaa, ja toivonkin, että alkuperät ilmoitetaan tarkasti ja minulle on tärkeätä myös, että

tuotteita ei testata eläimillä.

En ole itse kokeillut, sillä epäilen niiden toimivuutta. Kannatan luonnonmukaisia ja eläimillä

testaamatonta kosmetiikkaa.

Etelä-Korealaisia kosmetiikkatuotteita en ole nähnyt täälläpäin juurikaan mainostettavan. Sen

jälkeen kun niiden turvallisuus on varmistettu, olisin valmis kokeilemaan,vaikka yleensä

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suosin kotimaista tai luonnonkosmetiikkaa.

olen kuullut pelkästään hyviä kokemuksia

Mahtavia, Etelä-Koreassa ihmiset todella välittävät ihonhoidosta (sekä naiset että miehet) ja

niistä löytyy monille eri ihotyypeille sopivia tuotteita edullisin hinnoin. Heillä on myös

käytössään kosmetiikka appejä joiden avulla ihmiset pystyvät helposti ja nopeasti näkemään

onko kyseisessä tuotteessa mm. mitään hajusteita tai muita mahdollisesti haitallisia aineita

sekä näkevät kyseisten tuotteiden arvoisteluja joten uskon tämän myös vaikuttavan siihen

että monet kosmetiikka merkit haluavat tuoda markkinoille mahdollisimman hyviä tuotteita ja

tottakai mahdollisimman edullisesti, koska kilpailu Etelä-Koreassa on kovaa. (Löytyy kyllä

myös luksusbrändejä jotka ovat kalliimpia.) Käytän itse ihonhoitorutiinissani vain korealaisia

tuotteita, koska olen huomannut niiden auttavat ihotyyppiäni paremmin ja laajan valikoiman

ansiosta pystyn myös ostamaan edullisesti sellaisia tuotteita mitä

suomalaisista/länsimaalaisista tuotteista ei niitä löydy tai ne ovat todella kalliita.

Ovat hyviä tuotteita. Käyttäisin enemmän, jos olisi paremmin saatavilla.

Tällainen nettikauppa Suomessa tosin oli jo ja meni konkurssiin puolentoista vuoden

toiminnan jälkeen. Asiakaskunta siis on huono Suomessa ja hinnat olivat aika tyyriit.

Mutta jos jotain merkkiä erityisesti haluaisin niin EtudeHouse olisi kiva :)

Olen kokeillu, enkä tykännyt yhtään.

Good, worth to try

Mullistavia, äkkiä paljon Suomeenkin niitä saataville!

Käytettyäni niitä viimeisen 8 vuotta joista 2 asunut koreassa en oikeastaan käytä enään

mitään muuta. Tilaan korealaisten kaverien kautta postista aina lisää kun joku loppuu.

En osaa sanoa

Olen kokeillut vain Whamisaa ja pidän sarjasta kovasti

Mielikuvani tuotteista on, että ne ovat korkealaatuisia ja tehokkaita

Paha sanoa, kun ei tunne niin hyvin

Laadukkaita tuotteita. Hankala tosin saada Suomesta halvalla.

Positiivinen mielikuva

Kiinnostunut

korkealaatuista, suht hintavaa

Epävarmuus niiden laadusta, onko sitä mitä tuoteseloste kertoo.

Olen epävarma niiden laadusta ja olen saanut sen kuvan, ettei ne ole kovin tehokkaita tai

saattavat olla haitallisia.

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Tyttöystävä pitää niistä.

Good and trustworthy

The appearance of the those products are always cute and cheaper than i.e. western brands.

Since my skin type is typical asian skin type (which is combination skin with dry areas and T-

oily area), the SK products fits my skin better

Pidän Etelä-Korealaisista ihonhoitotuotteista, mutta en ole kovin kiinnostunut meikkituotteista.

Vaikuttaa erittäin laadukkaita tuotteita, joissa käytetään paljon kosmetiikan tehoaineita, hyvä

hinta-laatusuhde.

Hinta-laatusuhde erinomainen ja raaka-aineet huippuja!

I have heard good things about them and in general I've heard of a South Korean skin rou-

tine.

Ne ovat hieman epäillyttäviä. Näin vlogi-videon, jossa sanottiin, että kaikkea kosmetiikkaa

markkinoidaan "maitomaisena". En halua tietää, mitä ne sisältävät, sillä Aasiassa on usein

eurooppalaisille liian radikaaleja raaka-aineratkaisuja.

Ihan hyvä, en hirveästi ole perehtynyt. Itselläni käytössä yksi meikkivoide.

Korean cosmetic products are good and suited for my skin

Olen kuullut niiden olevan todella laadukkaita

En osaa sanoa. En ole käyttänyt niitä tarpeeksi, että osaisin muodostaa oman mielipiteeni.

I have heard many good things about face masks and such, but the make up has a stigma of

being like poison or being fake. So I would like to use something natural and cruelty free ofc

Hyvä laatuisia, mutta käyttöohjeet eivät kuulemani mukaan ole aina englanniksi mikä voi

tehdä käytöstä hankalaa.

Olen saanut käsityksen, että tuotteet olisivat "luonnollisempia" tai niissä olisi enemmän

suoraa luonnosta otettuja ainesosia ja ne olisi pyritty tekemään "puhtaammin" kuin monet

perus länsimaisten markettien tuotteet. Olen kiinnostunut tuotteista ja kokeilen niitä mielelläni

En usko laadun olevan hyvä, enkä myöskään haluaisi käyttää muuta kuin suomalaisia

tuotteita

Minulla ei oikeastaan ole mielipidettä niistä, sillä minulla ei ole juurikaan niistä tietoa

Ei mielipidettä, sillä en varmaan ole koskaan päässyt kokeilemaan

Hellävaraisempia iholle kuin länsimaalaiset tuotteet. Eivät esim. kuivata yhtä paljon.

Pakkaukset ovat silmälle miellyttävämpiä. Pidän enemmän Etelä-Korealaisesta kosmetiikasta

kuin länsimaalaisesta.

Kuulin että se on laadukasta ja sopii euroopalaisille ihmisille. Voi tulla allegria esim. etana-

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tuotteille.

8-tasoiten hoito joka ei sovi minulle, mutta jotakin haluaisin kokeilla ostamatta 8 tuotteita.

Ne vaikuttavat kiinnostavilta ja erilaisilta. Pakkaukset ovat usein kauniita.

Ihan positiivinen yleinen mielipide. Paljon niitä on ainakin kehuttu lehdissä yms. vastaavissa.

Olen kuullut niistä paljon ja olisin kiinnostunut kokeilemaan. Ymmärtääkseni hyviä ja timivia

tuotteita.

Olen hyvin kiinnostunut. Seuraan Ostolakossa blogia, jossa paljon asiaa Korealaisesta

ihonhoidosta

Ne ovat arvostettuja ja sanotaan että ne ovat aikaansa edellä. Tiedän 10 step skincare

metodin.

En kovin hyvin tunne tuotteita, mutta kasvomaskit ovat osoittautuneet eriomaisiksi omalle

iholle. Harmillisesti niiden käyttö osana arkirutiineja tulee liian kalliksi.

Halpaa

Jotkut huonolaatuisia

Turvallisuus?

Ovat varmasti laadukkaita. Uudet kosmetiikkatuotteet ovat ensin Aasian markkinoilla ja

leviävät sitten muualle. Ajattelen kuitenkin, että ne ovat suunniteltu enemmän Etelä-

Korealaisten ihotyypille ja tarpeisiin. Söpöt kosmetiikkapakkaukset ovat normaaleja Aasiassa,

mutta suomalainen aikuinen ei välttämättä pidä niitä itselleen sopivina.

Great designs and high quality, various ranges with resonable price

Moni käyttää niitä ja uskon että ne ovat hyviä. Rutiinit tuntuvat vain kovin pitkiltä.

Olen kuullut, että ne ovat hyviä

I have heard only good things about Korea cosmetics. People who live in Korea they have so

good skin.

Mielenkiintoisia, en keksi tämänhetkisen tiedon perusteella mitään huonoa sanottavaa.

I have heard that Korean cosmetic products are good and many people recommend them. I

think the quality is pretty good. Would really like to try them out.

Mielenkiintoisia ja ylellisiä

Euroopan ulkopuolelta tilattujen tuotteiden sisällöstä ei voi olla varma ja olenkin kuullut

kauhutarinoita aasialaisista kosmetiikkatuotteista, joissa on esimerkiksi lyijyä ja muita

myrkkyjä. Voisin kokeilla tuotteita, jos ne olisi todettu paikallisten viranomaisten toimesta

turvallisiksi ja tuotesisältö olisi selkeästi esillä.

High quality

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Should be nice, but when i visited Korea it was quite expensive in my opinion, but maybe its

not, i don't really understand anything about pricing in cosmetic products.

Laadukkaita

Laadukkaita

Ne ovat laadukkaita ja halpoja.

Monet merkit etenkin hintaansa nähden hyvin laadukkaita. Eri tehoaineita käytetään paljon

monipuolisemmin kuin esim. eurooppalaisessa kosmetiikassa (tai ainakin eurooppalaiset

vastaavat ovat yleensä huomattavasti kalliimpia).

Kuullut paljon hyvää. Haluaisin kokeilla, mutta myös tietämykseni on aika huono niiden

laadun suhteen. (Minkälainen kannattaisi ostaa)

Halpa ja tehokas

Mielenkiintoisia ja mielestäni tuotteita on alkanut näkyä verkkokaupoissa ja myymälöissä

Suomessa jonkin verran.

Sama kuin kaikessa kosmetiikassa, osa tuotteista on hyviä ja osa ei. Itse olen kiinnostunut

enemmän inci-listasta ja oikeasti hyödyllisistä raaka-aineista, kuin mainospuheista.

Olen kuullut, että ne ovat laadukkaita. Ostaisin niitä mielelläni, jos tietäisin missä niitä

myydään.

En tunne etelä-korealaista kosmetiikkaa, mutta kokeilen mielelläni uutta.

Minulla ei ole kokemusta kyseisistä tuotteista, mutta kokeilisin mielelläni jos tietäisin mitkä

tuotteet ovat hyviä ja mistä niitä saa.

ne ovat hyvin laadukkaita, ja tehokkaita

Olen kuullut Suomessa ihmisiltä hyvää palautetta niistä ja ne ovat noissa coneissa todella

suosittuja

Suits asian skin the best, cheap, good face mask

Se on ollut nyt pinnalla sekä suomalaisessa että amerikkalaisessa kosmetiikkauutisoinnissa

jo hetken aikaa

Laadukkaita, luonnon kosmetiikkaa.

En itse alkaisi käyttämään. Minulle riittää suomalaiset tuotteet.

Ne on hyviä ja innovaatisia. Hauskoja ja mielikuvituksellisia. Erikoisia ja erilaisia verrattuna

muiden maiden kosmetiikkaan, joista monet ottavat vain mallia Etelä-Korealaisista

kosmetiikkatuotteista, koska ne on nyt tällä hetkellä trendikkäitä.

Suhtaudun niihi positiivisesti ja avoimin mielin. Olen halukas kokeilemaan niitä jos tilanne

tulisi esiin.

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Haluaisin kokeilla niitä ja olen kuullut niistä vain hyvää palautetta

Etelä-Korealaiset kosmetiikka tuotteet ovat olleet erittäin hyviä! Tuotteet ovat hintavia, mutta

hyviä ja luontoa säästäviä.

Epäilen niiden laatua.

En tiedä niistä vielä tarpeeksi hankkiakseni niitä...

Olen kuullut näistä positiivisia kokemuksia, mutta en ole itse vaivautunut perehtymään niin

paljon, että tietäisin mitä ostaa. Kiinnostaisi kyllä jotakin kokeilla, jos saatavuus olisi parempi

ja tutustuminen helpompaa.

Aika tuntemattomia Suomen maaperällä, mutta kai niidenkin laatu on jollain tasolla hyvää.

Riippuu, kuka niitä tekee ja millaisilla raaka-aineilla. Kuluttajana olemme aika kriittisiä siitä,

mitä naamaamme laitamme ja millaista toimintaa haluamme kannattaa.

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APPENDIX 4. Correspondents’ answers given into free text field for question 11

Option names Text

Other, please

specify Sopivuus itselle

Other, please

specify Luonnontuotteet

Other, please

specify Ei saa olla eläimillä testattu.

Other, please

specify natural cosmetic

Other, please

specify Green values and no animal cruelty

Other, please

specify Testillä, mikä sopii itselle

Other, please

specify että se sopii minulle

Other, please

specify Ympäristöystävällisyys (tuote ja pakkaus)

Other, please

specify Tuotteen toimivuus

Other, please

specify Eläimillä testaamattomuus, ekologisuus, eettisyys

Other, please

specify ekologisuus, luonnonmukaisuus

Other, please

specify Luontoystävällisyys

Other, please

specify Vegaanisuus / Cruelty Free

Other, please

specify Allergia ja astmaliiton suosimat tuotteet. Allergia syiden takia.

Other, please

specify Onko tuotteet allergiatestattuja.

Other, please turvallisuus, ei ole testattu eläimillä

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specify

Other, please

specify Turvallisuus, eläinkokeettomuus

Other, please

specify Ekologisuus

Other, please

specify sopivuus omalle iholle

Other, please

specify Sensitivy

Other, please

specify Turvallisuus

Other, please

specify sopii ihotyypilleni

Other, please

specify Ekologisuus, eikä testattu eläimillä

Other, please

specify Toimivuus

Other, please

specify käyttötarkoitus

Other, please

specify luonnonmukaisuus ja ekologisuus

Other, please

specify ei ole testattu eläimillä

Other, please

specify herkälle iholle

Other, please

specify Tietenkin itse tuotteen sisältö, mm. väri

Other, please

specify Luonnollisuus

Other, please

specify Ne ovat vegaanisia ja eläintestattomia.

Other, please

specify

Cruelty free ja luonnonmukaisuus. Ekologinen pakkaus, läheltä tulevat

meikit ekologisempia.

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Other, please

specify Ekologisuus ja miten tuotteet on testattu

Other, please

specify suosin luomukosmetiikkaa

Other, please

specify Tuotteen sopivuus juuri minulle, että se toimii.

Other, please

specify Ekologisuus ja eettisyys

Other, please

specify saan mitä esim. voiden ominaisuudet lupaavat

Other, please

specify Allergiatestattu. Mieluiten ei eläimillä testattu.

Other, please

specify Ekologisuus ja kotimaisuus

Other, please

specify Ympäristö- ja eläinystävällisyys

Other, please

specify Sopivuus omaan ihooni

Other, please

specify Cruelty free/vegaanisuus

Other, please

specify Turvallisuus

Other, please

specify Toimii, kuten haluan

Other, please

specify Tuotteen sopivuus itselle

Other, please

specify ympäristöystävällisyys ja eettisyys

Other, please

specify Ekologisuus

Other, please

specify Tuoksu ja se miltä se tuntuu iholla; ja etenkin miltä iho tuntuu sen jälkeen.

Other, please Tuoksuttomuus

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specify

Other, please

specify Ei saa olla eläimillä testattuja

Other, please

specify Vegaanisuus, eläinkokeettomuus ja herkälle iholle sopivuus

Other, please

specify ekologisuus

Other, please

specify Tuotteen sopivuus omalle iholleni

Other, please

specify Ekologisuus ja eettisyys kaikessa.

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APPENDIX 5. Author’s letter to the correspondents

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APPENDIX 6. Email to Jelppari to confirm the number of receivers of the email sent by the

author