글로벌 코스메틱 브랜드 제품의 가격 비교 연구

Price Differentiation of Global Cosmetic Brands

The global cosmetic market has been increasing over the several decades and many cosmetic brands are marketed in different countries. The main objectives of this study were to develop cosmetic index which indicate the ratio between local price and the US price, to investigate price differences of global cosmetic products over different countries using cosmetic index, to compare the cosmetic indices to Big Mac Indices, and to examine the cosmetic indices in comparison to the income level of local countries. The price information posted in official websites of three major cosmetic brands (Estée Lauder, Clinique, and Lancôme) were obtained for one skincare and one makeup products respectively for each brand in the countries where the products have been marketed. The results showed wide price differences in global cosmetic brands both in skincare products and makeup products, even though the price differences among the countries were less severe in the case of makeup products than skincare products. The cosmetic indices in almost all countries were much higher than BigMac indices, indicating that cosmetic products were, in general, more highly priced than other consumer goods. And there was little relationship between the income level and the cosmetic indices which suggest that global cosmetics are marketed as luxury goods.