In China, PROYA is a heavyweight. In America, it’s an unfamiliar name entering a crowded ring.
Its latest move: the Chinese skincare company is bringing its Advanced Firming and Original Repair ranges to Ulta Beauty. The August announcement promised a November rollout to 400 American stores. Ulta now lists 16 PROYA products online, six designated for stores as well as online. How many stores have received them is not yet independently established.
And Korea got there first.
In September, Target launched Beauty Studio in more than 600 locations, including Korean brands such as Rom&nd, Purito Seoul and Sungboon Editor. These are not 600 Korean-beauty-only stores; they are part of a broader 90-brand beauty assortment.
The American prize is substantial. Prestige and mass beauty sales totaled $56.3 billion in the first half of 2026, with both segments growing 7%, according to Circana.
PROYA arrives with a real record. Reuters calls it China’s largest homegrown beauty brand by revenue. Chinese-owned beauty brands accounted for 57.4% of their home cosmetics market last year. But PROYA has acknowledged that its American name recognition is close to nonexistent. A domestic title offers no automatic advantage abroad.
It is not the first Chinese contender at Ulta, either. Florasis joined Ulta’s online marketplace in 2025. Its global-markets president told The Business of Fashion that some ornate palettes repeatedly sold out after restocking. That is an encouraging anecdote, not a measurement of nationwide demand for Chinese beauty.
PROYA’s financial record adds pressure: group revenue grew 7.46% in the first nine months of 2026, while profit attributable to shareholders excluding nonrecurring items fell 25.5%. Headline attributable net profit actually rose 22.46%, making a simple “profits are down” claim misleading.
PROYA has secured its American retail opening. Korea has already built a substantial export business there. The contest now moves from distribution announcements to what happens after the first purchase.
Round one is shelf space. Round two is whether shoppers come back.