In August 2009, the luxury Missha Homme Urban Soul line was launched with higher quality and are more expensive than the existing two men's cosmetic lines.[1]
Missha products range from makeup, skin care, to body and hair products; such as All-Around Safe Block Soft Finish Sun Milk SPF 50, Cool Fitting Body Gel and Hot Burning Body Gel.[3]
Missha is also known for making high quality, lower cost duplications of more expensive brands. For example, the Missha Time Revolution First Treatment Essence is a popular duplication of luxury brand essence SK-II,[4] and the Missha Time Revolution Night Repair Science Activator Ampoule is a popular duplicate of the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair.[5]
Missha changed its brand identity at 2018, and its new brand essence is SIMPLE(including the meaning of true, bold, edge).[6]
Based on the cumulative number of customers as of May 2020, MISSHA has around 10 million customers worldwide.[7]
MISSHA has 32,829 stores around the world, most of which are located in Japan (23,000), as of May 2020.[7]
On August 1, 2011 it was announced that South Korean boyband duo TVXQ signed on as advertisement models for Missha in Korea and started their official promotions that month. On choosing TVXQ, Able-CNC Marketing said "TVXQ’s powerful and luxurious image coupled with their passion for bringing new ideas to the stage perfectly fits the brand image of ‘Missha’ to a T. With TVXQ, Missha aims to become a global cosmetic brands in conjunction with the Hallyu wave, and thus become leaders of the international market".[9]
On 14 August 2012, Missha launched a new limited-edition TVXQ perfume set and had a special fan signing event at the Missha store in Myeong-dong.[10] On September 10, 2012, Missha announced that the duo had again signed an exclusive contract with them to represent the brand worldwide and that their advertisements would soon be featured in some 1,000 stores across Asia.[11]
2003 to 2006 and 2013: BoA.[12] Recently Missha was announced that South Korean actor In-seong Jo signed on as advertisement model for Missha in Korea.[13]
Controversy
Original logo
On August 22, 2007, a court ruled Missha was guilty of trademark infringement against Mary Quant Cosmetics. Missha's original flower logo was determined to be too similar to the Mary Quant Daisy logo. Missha was fined ₩3 million and the ruling stated that "Although Missha’s trademark combines a diagram and letters and has different colors compared to the trademark of the Mary Quant Cosmetics, there are reasonable concerns that the identical shapes of the diagrams could hurt the brand recognition of the plaintiff and may confuse customers".[14] The company was required to change its logo, because under Korean copyright law, companies cannot use symbols that are similar in shape to a previously-registered trademark but only differ in color.[15]
Closure
On January 2, 2015, all 20 Missha stores in Hong Kong and Macau were closed and all staff left the stores the same day. Various notices were posted at the stores, stating that "Missha is no longer available to serve you. We apologize for any inconvenience caused" and "under construction".
According to a local newspaper, Apple Daily, an employee received a WhatsApp message from a head-office colleague at about noon, saying that "The boss is gone. Everyone can leave." As reported, Missha owes the former staff over HK$1 million for salary and severance payments.[16][17][18]
References
^Song, Ji-hye (17 August 2009). "Luxury cosmetics, with a male bent". Joongang Daily. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Sunwoo, Carla (11 September 2012). "TVXQ to represent Missha worldwide". Joongang Daily. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
