A Walk On The Line Side...With
AMOREPACIFIC
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Mr. Horowitz, AMOREPACIFIC’s Katherine Han and Ms. Ruggiero
“We love Neiman Marcus and they love us back,” enthused Ms. Khanbalinova. “We have a great relationship, and it’s gotten even better with Bradley as our leader. After a lot of troubleshooting we now have a clear path and are getting stronger and stronger.” “Neiman Marcus has been a terrific partner for us,” she continued. “In every store, Ms. Han and Mr. Horowitz showcase we have a partnership AMOREPACIFIC’s products. that extends from the Department Managers to the Assistant Managers to the General Managers. They know what AMOREPACIFIC is about, and that is the secret to our success.”
Neiman Marcus’ Lynne Vreeland joins Ms. Ruggiero and Mr. Horowitz. MA R C H 2 0 1 3 /
“We opened our first counter at Bergdorf Goodman in 2003 and started at the top of the market. We expanded to Neiman Marcus in 2004, and it is our largest and oldest account,” Mr. Horowitz said. “Our partnership with Neiman Marcus is incredibly important to us.” “Our performance in the past two years has been really great,” Ms. Dong added. “Neiman Marcus has definitely taken note of us in relation to the rest of the skincare brands in the department, and we don’t take it lightly. It is a result of hard work in the field. It is very important that we have our own people in the stores, and now have Product Specialists in 16 of the 26 Neiman Marcus doors where we are located.” The space and location for AMOREPACIFIC’s counter in Neiman Marcus is by the escalators. “It is an amazing location as far as foot traffic is concerned,” Ms. Khanbalinova affirmed. “We have access to the majority of customers walking through the store.” AMOREPACIFIC’s Product Specialist, Katherine Han, educates customers about the brand by encouraging them to sample the products. Ms. Han tells her customers about the powerful ingredients in this Korean skincare line and their benefits. This education creates an initial interest to try the products, and by providing a customized selection of samples, customers are able to see and feel the difference prior to purchase. Follow-up and exclusive invitations to special events help build the connection and encourage repeat purchases. Ms. Dong places very high importance on product sampling. “We make a big investment in sampling with packettes for every product. The SKUs that are not suited to packette sampling have deluxe samples for our highend Neiman Marcus customers. If the client purchases a moisturizer, they are given samples of serums and eye creams to take home that we expect will convince them to purchase the rest of the regimen to complement the moisturizer.” Mr. Horowitz emphasized that training and education are imperative to translate the benefits of AMOREPACIFIC’s products to the customer. “We invest in training so that Katherine [Han] can have a very high level of product expertise. We have three Trainers who give the Product Specialists new product training at least once a season. Our National Trainer, Steven Snook, is in the stores a few times a season to make sure the Product Specialists get whatever support they need.” Neiman Marcus Department Manager Elisa Ruggiero praised Ms. Han’s relationship with her customers citing her efforts to provide personalized attention, customized product sampling and consistent follow-up as the keys to her success. One sampling effort was noted as being especially
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