Skin Cream Maker Riman Buys Irvine Office Building for $14M

Riman has bought a 33,600-square-foot building to serve as its U.S. headquarters in Irvine for $13.9 million.

Rspectrum, an affiliate of the South Korea-based skincare firm, purchased the three-story building at 108 Pacifica in the Spectrum district, the Orange County Business Journal reported.

The seller was an unidentified firm led by Cameron Merage, founder of First Team Real Estate, which once housed its headquarters at the property.

The deal worked out to $415 per square foot, the second highest office deal in the Spectrum area this year.

The Class B offices, built in 1990 on 1.55 acres next to the Laguna Freeway, has a ground-floor parking garage and lot that serves 142 cars, according to Loopnet.

Brokers John Bucher and Greg Endsley of Madison Street Partners in Newport Beach represented the seller, while Brady Kim of Redpoint Realty represented the buyer.

Riman, founded in 2018, in April opened a U.S. base in L.A.’s Koreatown, which it plans to move to the Irvine location within the next six months, according to recent job postings.

The company, which conducts direct sales to consumers, claims it has topped $2 billion in cumulative sales to date, with sales in 2021 exceededing $600 million.

Last month, First Team Real Estate cut its 10-year partnership with Christie’s International Real Estate. It also appointed Michele Harrington to serve as CEO. Merage, who had been CEO, will now serve as chairman.

With the housing market in flux, First Team wants to go back to an “agent-first” model, focusing on its marketing programs and agent training, the company said in a statement.

“We felt that our independence is what got us to where we are today and what will enable us to continue innovating on behalf of our agents,” said Merage, brother of Hot Pockets inventor and UCI donor Paul Merage.

“We provide them with what they need to grow their businesses, offering the opportunity to be part of a great company culture while empowering them to develop their own teams.”

— Dana Bartholomew