[Daiso website]
[Daiso website]

Daiso, the budget lifestyle goods chain, is rapidly capturing demand for sun care products this summer.

According to Aseong Daiso, sales of sun care products — including sunscreen, sun sticks and sun cushions — rose roughly 100 percent year-on-year from May 1 through May 28.

Industry observers attribute the surge to two factors: sun care products are a staple seasonal purchase that consumers replenish every year, and shoppers are increasingly gravitating toward value-for-money options amid persistently high prices.

Daiso has also been building its presence in the broader beauty category, drawing in younger consumers at a fast clip. Its cosmetics sales rose about 70 percent last year compared with the year before, and growth continued into this year, with sales up roughly 30 percent year-on-year in the January-to-April period.

Meanwhile, Daiso is running a "Daiso-DAY Featured New Beauty" event on its online store, Daiso Mall, from June 8 through June 12. The promotion showcases approximately 290 new beauty products and popular brand items.

A dedicated "Summer Beauty" section organizes products by category, covering sun care, waterproof lip and eye products, and cooling and deodorant items.

Daiso is a fixed-price lifestyle retailer selling roughly 30,000 products — from household goods and cosmetics to stationery and home décor — at uniform prices ranging from 500 won to 5,000 won ($0.36 to $3.62). The chain opened its first store in Cheonho-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, in May 1997 under the name Asco Even Plaza, and adopted the Daiso name in 2001 following an investment from Japan's Daiso Sangyo. It has since bought out the Japanese stake and now operates as a fully independent Korean company.


rainbow@heraldcorp.com