[THE INVESTOR] Nature Republic, the Korean cosmetics brand that focuses on promoting a healthy lifestyle, is set to open two more stores in the US and expand its overseas presence.

The company was recently mired in a scandal involving its founder and CEO Jung Woon-ho. He has been in prison for eight months on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust for gambling overseas, and caused a political upheaval allegedly spending billions of won in lobbying for a lenient sentence.

The nature inspired brand replaced him with Kim Chang-ho, senior vice president of sales as the new CEO and is seeking to put the company back on track. As part of these efforts, it is building up its presence in US with the launch of a store in Del Amo Mall in Torrance, California.

The southern California shopping center is the biggest among the 350 malls in US and Europe owned by Simon Group, and after two years of preparation, it will join Del Amo Mall which has over 200 stores under its roof, the first Korean cosmetics brand to do so.

The cosmetics brand will also open another store in Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst, New York, later this month. With this it will have a presence in the four largest shopping mall groups in US: Simon, Westfield, GGP and Macerich.

Nature Republic entered the US market in 2012 and has 17 stores, half of which are in major shopping centers. It is looking to expand into Texas and San Diego, the company said.

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)