Abstract
The purpose of this study is to provide concrete growth strategies and practical development methods in the beauty service industry. This study consists of a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis from the literature review and in-depth interviews with experts of the beauty service industry in South Korea. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is applied to the finalized SWOT matrix to incorporate experts’ ideas. The combined high priority factors present four types of strategic alternatives: Strength–Opportunity (SO), Strength–Threat (ST), Weakness–Opportunity (WO), and Weakness–Threat (WT). This study applies an environmental analysis framework from the management strategy field to construct a sophisticated SWOT matrix. Furthermore, this study quantifies the importance of SWOT components through AHP to determine priorities to lay the groundwork for timely and sustainable strategy development in the beauty service industry. Based on the SWOT-AHP analysis, this study suggests that beauty service companies should pay attention to the lack of profitability and employee stress with high turnover rates caused by poor working conditions and emotional labor. In addition, the Korean government should gradually shift away from the lack of an effective legal system to grow the beauty industry.
Highlights
Global beauty has become a huge industry that affects the daily lives of almost everyone
After the relative importance of the SWOT factors was evaluated, experts in the Korean beauty service industry evaluated the importance of strength and weakness factors in the internal environment as 0.343 and 0.265, respectively
We can acknowledge that Korean beauty service industry experts evaluated the importance of SWOT factors in the following order: First, to strengthen and use internal strengths; Second, to complement or reduce internal environmental weaknesses; Third, to take advantage of external environmental opportunities; Fourth, to mitigate or eliminate threats
Summary
Global beauty has become a huge industry that affects the daily lives of almost everyone. As the global beauty business permeates our lives and international markets, demand for trendy goods with innovative and diverse characteristics became prevalent [1]. Mostly women, are constantly exploring new products, styles, and brands. This is part of a significant generational shift of younger consumers, rejecting large brands that their parents preferred and seeking out locally-made, artisanal, and natural products in all consumer categories [3]. The global beauty industry (comprising skincare, color cosmetics, hair care, fragrance, and personal care) has experienced major disruptions due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic [5]
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