Service 05
Wholesale K-beauty into US retail.
Luxmetics distributes Korean beauty brands into US department stores, specialty retail, and online marketplaces — with pricing architecture, MAP enforcement, and 3PL logistics handled in-house. We also place brands through RangeME and our direct distributor network.
Who this is for
- National retailers — Pallet-level wholesale into department stores, beauty chains, and specialty retail.
- E-commerce platforms — Drop-ship and FBM fulfillment into Amazon, TikTok Shop, and DTC marketplaces.
- Regional distributors — Sub-distribution partnerships with regional exclusivity and joint marketing support.
Channels we distribute through
Eight active sell-in channels, and they do not want the same thing. Choosing wrong is the most expensive mistake in a US launch, because the first channel you enter sets the price the next one will accept.
- Department stores and beauty chains — Long lead times, formal vendor onboarding, chargeback schedules, and a planogram calendar you join or wait a season for. The highest-credibility placement and the slowest.
- Specialty retail — Faster to open and more forgiving on assortment, which makes it the usual proving ground before a national buyer will look at you.
- Med spa networks and professional distributors — Sold on protocol fit and retail attach rate rather than shelf aesthetics. Smaller orders, higher repeat, and the buyer is often the person performing the treatment.
- Amazon — Brand Registry, gating in the beauty category, and unauthorized-seller pressure. Enter it without control of your listing and you will spend the next year buying your own brand back.
- TikTok Shop and DTC marketplaces — Velocity and content-led discovery, with return rates and creator economics that belong in the margin model from day one, not after the first viral week.
What a buyer checks before the first PO
US buyers run a short, boring checklist, and a brand that cannot answer it does not get a second meeting. Have these ready before the first conversation, not after:
- MoCRA status — facility registration and product listing on file, with the Responsible Person named on the label.
- GTIN or EAN per SKU, matching the barcode actually printed on the carton.
- Case pack, inner pack and pallet configuration, with real dimensional weights. “We will confirm later” reads as “we have never shipped a pallet”.
- Shelf life and lot coding — remaining-life-on-receipt rules are standard, and product that arrives too close to expiry gets rejected at the dock, not discounted.
- US-compliant artwork, including ingredient declaration and net contents in both US customary and metric.
- Product liability insurance naming the retailer where required.
- A written MAP policy you can actually enforce, plus the authorized-seller list that makes it enforceable.
What lands in your landed cost
The single most common pricing error we correct is a margin model built on the FOB price from Korea. By the time a case is on a US shelf it has absorbed considerably more than freight, and the difference usually lands on whoever forgot to count it:
- Duty, set by HTS classification. Cosmetics do not all classify alike, and the correct code is a documentation question with real money attached. The trade environment for Korean goods has moved materially, and the low-cost direct-to-consumer parcel route that many brands relied on has tightened — so a plan written on last year’s assumptions needs re-running rather than reusing.
- Freight and insurance, with the sea-versus-air decision driven by launch dates as much as by cost.
- Customs brokerage and entry fees, plus the cost of a detention if paperwork is wrong.
- 3PL intake, storage and pick-pack, including the labor of relabeling if the cartons arrive non-compliant.
- Channel economics — retailer margin, marketplace referral fees, co-op and promotional allowances, and returns.
We build that stack per SKU before quoting a wholesale price, so the number you give a buyer is one you can still live with in month nine.
How we distribute
- Channel fit — We map each brand to the US channels where it’ll move at full margin — not a fire sale.
- Pricing & terms — MSRP architecture, distributor margins, MAP enforcement, and freight terms negotiated upfront.
- Logistics — Sea/air freight from Korea, US customs clearance, warehouse intake, and 3PL pick-pack-ship.
- Compliance — MoCRA registration, FDA labeling review, and US-spec bilingual packaging before first shipment.
- Sell-through — Quarterly business reviews, replenishment forecasting, and marketing co-op support.
Case study
A Korean serum brand hit $1.2M in US wholesale year one.
A Seoul indie skincare brand wanted US distribution without losing pricing control. We built a three-channel strategy — specialty retail, regional distributors, and Amazon Brand Registry — and held MAP from day one. Results: $1.2M year-one wholesale, 147 retail doors, 0 MAP violations.
Questions, answered
Do you hold inventory in the US?
Yes. We operate from a New Jersey 3PL with capacity for 500+ SKUs and same-day fulfillment for most channels.
What are your minimum order quantities for retailers?
MOQs depend on the brand and channel; we set them so your doors stay in stock without over-committing.
How do you enforce MAP across channels?
We monitor pricing across channels and act on violations to protect brand value.
Can you ship internationally outside the US?
Our core network is US-focused; international routes are handled case by case.
Do you handle Amazon-specific challenges (gating, IP, brand registry)?
Yes — including Brand Registry, gating, and IP protection.