In the fall of 2008, I went to the business trip at US. I stayed in my eldest son's house few days after work, had a dinner and visited supermarket for searching a special business item. I found the gel type product which composed with pump and transparent bottle. That item was Hand Sanitizer.

This item was never seen in Korea but it is necessity item in US. In US, Everybody use this product in house. Also students are carrying this item in their bag and girls carrying this in their hand-bag as well.

In particular, kindergarten and elementary school student's carry it in their bags, and they can use it conveniently without water, detergent, or towels even when washing hands after playing with dirt or exercising. The front desk employee, who is handle cash, is no need to be away and time to go to the restroom for clean their hands. So the economic effect is exist.

After came back to korea, I rushed to develop the Hand Sanitizer, I invested hundreds of thousands dollars for make the new mold of PET and CAP of Hand Santizer. That time, LCC was founded 10-year since 1998, it was only OEM production for Nivea and LG. That time was really frustrated that our vision'100-year company' is just a slogan. So I brimmed over with enthusiasm to develop the new item 'Hand Sanitizer' for make own-brand and pioneer new market.

Considering small enterprise, it was dare to think about enter into Mass Market. Therefore I made the decision to pioneer kindergarten Market referring the US Market. I hired salesperson, made package design "Oriox Clean&Clean" for new Hand Sanitizer. We made sample of product and visited many of big kindergarten.

We received positive feedback of Hand Sanitizer from kindergarten's staff members. They said that children is vulnerable from the virus. Children have to clean their hands especially but this hand sanitizer assist to clean their hands convenient without water, soap, towel. I felt "success" and heated up product promotion.

With a different concept from the imported U.S. product named "Purell". "ORIOX Clean & Clean" is made of grain that does not detect any harmful methanol and Acetaldehyde. We emphasized this concept in our catalog and trying to sell this product to kindergarten. But contrary to the good consumer response, orders and sales were standstill. About six months of hard work went down the drain and got the bitter consequences of business failure.

The new flu, which began in Mexico in early 2009, has recorded 150 deaths by May, expanding to tens of thousands of people in 76 countries by June and spreading to Korea. The New Flu is Similar to the "Spain Flu," which killed 20 million people at the end of World War I in 1918. This flu was fatally damaging to children who have a weak immune systems. At the end of summer vacation that year, H1N1 flu was spreading throughout the country, and demand for Hand Sanitizer surged upon the opening of school. But there was only a small amount of Purell sanitizer, which was imported from the U.S and supplied to hospitals only because of the lack of manufacturing and supply systems in Korea. But LCC, which secured products for kindergarten hand sanitizer business and had a mass production system, had the chance to spread out hand sanitizer. All requests for hand sanitizer from elementary and middle schools were concentrated on LCC. The sales department in Seoul ran the Call Center due to the difficulty of answering the phone. Privately, I've come to the point where I have to turn off my phone because I've been having trouble receiving dozen and hundreds of requests through cell phones from my personal acquaintances.

Other manufacturing company need time about 4month to make Hand Santizer. To make the new bottle mold, it take two month, and register the product to Korea MFDS, it take several month. Also purchasing the pump and secure the raw-material from other county is very difficult.

"LCC ran before the wind" , which had prepared for the kindergarten business and secured products of children's hand sanitizer. (Even though it's six months)"

There is no Hand sanitizer manufacturer and distributor in the domestic market, so it was very busy but it was the best time for LCC to make and distribute hand sanitizer products also the profit reached high since LCC had founded.

At the same time, the completion of the 4th factory exclusively for pharmaceutical products such as Mouthwash and Hand Sanitizer at the cost of 8 million dollars was a "Sail in the Wind" for the mass production and supply of hand sanitizer.

We were able to supply large quantities to the Public Procurement Service, North Korea, and also export to Japan. In the past we only focused in domestic Market but that time, we started to have a dream being a export company.

Profits soared, I could pay "Special Bonuses" to LCC employees for the first time since LCC foundation. I fell into a reverie that the "ORIOX Clean & Clean Hand sanitizer" was likely to became to the famous Brand.

I started to advertise our brand to famous internet domain banner at a monthly cost of fifty thousand dollars per month. I was so confident of the success of "ORIOX" by advertising in children's magazines and subway ads at a monthly cost of ten thousand dollars per month. I spent six months in a delusion devoted to sales, advertising and promotion while neglecting factory management.

"The good comes with the bad", Sales and profitability have increased significantly, and the success of ORIOX has heightened confidence in the business, but many problems have begun to be exposed.

We have been involved in ten thousands dollars in lawsuits for unpaid bills from retailers, and we have been hit hard by a surge in stock of raw materials and products. LG seniors and acquaintances who were in the distribution business pleaded for the return of Hand Sanitizer due to the last-minute slump in sales, and the good will to alleviate their difficulties caused the product warehouse to overflow.

The H1N1 has lasted more than a year, but sales of Hand Sanitizer have been on the decline for six months, and the oversupply of small businesses has caused manufacturers to suffer greatly from wealthier pumps and product overstocking.

In short, many companies were on the last train, but LCC spent six months, (especially three months), earning a lot of money, so it was able to lighten the burden of overstocking.

As shown in the above Graph, sales in 2009 were 4.5 million dollars in four months with only LCC Brand Hand Sanitizer without ODM or OEM. It was highly profitable.

The MERS in 2015 resulted in 2.4 million dollars in annual sales, but continued a vicious cycle of sluggish sales and inventory for the rest of the year, forcing other manufacturers and distributors of Hand Sanitzer to suffer from worsening business conditions. Virus fad diseases such as MERS and SARS led to sales growth of only one or two months, followed by a flood of inventory.

In other words, after two to three months of heated use like our national character, it quickly turned into a cold market, and was treated as a avoidance product to sales companies.

As a leader in hand sanitizer, LCC increase the steady sales growth through ODM and ORIOX development and supply since 2018. we estimate our sales at over 3.5 million dollars(based on factory released) through this Corona virus.

Although we've earned so much profit that we're affordable paying 60 to 70 thousand dollars per month for advertising, the Hand Sanitizer project from 2009 to 2010 has taught us a lot of lessons.

I can conclude that it was a lottery. Introduce a good product at the right time without much effort, the complacency permeated the company. Wrong ideas that a single blow can generate sales and profits... But there's another positive lesson.

"Failure is the mother of success." The failure of the kindergarten business is another success. It made ORIOX Clean & Clean stand at the niche market. I'd like to say that it's another success that we've gained over 50 percent of the domestic market with ODM and LCC products.

The deaths and infections of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people from Corona Virus are terrorizing China and Southeast Asia, and all over the county. But this virus also give the lesson of importance of cleaning hands through water or Hand Sanitizer. Also it will make the Hand Sanitizer market.

Like "Marketing's Leadership Law," our "Bubble Soap" is creating a success story in Niche Market just as first-time market entrants can be a leader.

Similarly, the ORIOX Hand Sanitizer, which was first introduced in the Korean market, will also be a leader in the domestic market, and I have no doubt that it will grow into another "good item" of exports based on domestic demand.

CEO BAIK, SUNGCHUN