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SSouth Korean health and beauty retail giant olive young announced that it is opening its first US store in May next year, marking the Korean’s entry into the world’s largest beauty market amid growing US interest in Korean. skin care,
Established in Seoul in 1999 and part of CJ Group, Olive Young runs more than 1,300 outlets south korea and offers a blend of innovative skin care, CosmeticsAnd Kalyan Prasad. News of the physical store comes nine months after the company established its US subsidiary CJ Olive Young USA in February as part of preparations for overseas expansion.
The new store will be located in Pasadena, CaliforniaApproximately 18 km from central Los Angeles, which will position it to appeal to both the city’s consumer base and the broader West Coast beauty market. Expect more stock from Olive Young 200 brandsWhich includes popular Korean names like Anua, Sungboon Editor, Dr. Althea, Mediheal and Purito, as well as its own in-house ranges like Colorgram, Bringgreen and Bioheal Boh.
according to korea timesThe Pasadena outlet will be completely redesigned “K-Beauty Showcase”, combining products, skin care evaluations and experiential services based on data from its Korean stores and its global e-commerce platform.
The company is reportedly in discussions with over 400 Korean and global brands for potential placement and is setting up a local logistics centre, sourcing operations and marketing infrastructure to support the expansion.
Over time, Olive Young plans to integrate the US stores with its international online mall to create a complete omni-channel experience.
An Olive Young executive explained, “We want to expand K-beauty’s reach to more consumers around the world and provide a platform that helps Korean brands grow overseas.” korea herald“Our goal is to grow into a global beauty and wellness platform that spans both Korean and international brands,”
As Olive Young makes its US debut, it is joining a wave of Korean cosmetics and skin care companies that are deepening their presence in the US market.
According to South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, in the first half of 2025, the country will overtake the US to become the world’s second-largest cosmetics exporter behind France, and generated $10.28 billion in cosmetics exports last year, up 20.3 percent from 2023.
South Korea is set to overtake France as the US’s biggest cosmetics exporter in 2025, with online sales of the top five Korean brands in the US rising 71 percent over two years, a Reuters report said.
Some Korean brands have become even more successful abroad than at home. “Our biggest market is America. We’re not really popular in Korea, I have to admit that,” said Sumin Lee, co-founder of Beauty of Joseon. dazzling beauty podcast.
Olive Young’s biggest international activation to date at KCON LA 2025 showcased the scale of K-beauty’s rise. Its 430-square-metre booth showcased 66 brands and 164 products to 125,000 attendees, leading to long queues for skin-analysis stations, sunscreen demo zones and beginner-friendly routines.
The company’s global online mall also recorded strong growth, with overseas sales up 70 percent year-on-year and order volume up 60 percent in the first half of 2025. korea times,
Olive Young is also a major destination for foreign visitors to South Korea. International tourists accounted for 26 percent of offline sales in the first half of this year, rising to more than 30 percent in the second quarter. korea economic daily,
Of the 7.2 million tourists who visited the country from January to May, nearly six million shopped at Olive Young stores, and found its multilingual services, tax-refund counters, color-analysis consultations and personalized shopping programs designed especially for customers unfamiliar with local brands very useful.
The appeal of Korean beauty and especially Olive Young got a further boost During the recent APEC summit in the city of Gyeongju, where US White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt and Presidential Advisor Margo Martin shared their Olive Young products on social media.
according to Mile Business News KoreaThe number of visitors to the branch he visited increased by 77 percent compared to the previous week, while the share of foreign-customer sales increased from 20 percent to 63 percent.
Despite Olive Young’s rapid expansion, the retailer has faced concerns over parts of its operations. Domestically, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission fined the retailer 1.89 billion won (£985,601) in December 2023 after it ruled it treated suppliers unfairly, including forcing them to bear the cost of Olive Young’s own promotional events. korea times,
Overseas customers have complained about Olive Young’s global e-commerce site, with Trustpilot reviews citing unexpected customs fees and missing parcels. “I ordered a 1+1 item as their web page image, but only 1 delivered. I sent an inquiry and got a reply that it was not a 1+1 promotion. I can’t believe a company that operates globally makes a mistake like this and handles customer service poorly,” one customer wrote.
Another wrote: “paid over €30 (£26.47) in customs duty. The website has no transparency about how much the customs cost will be and whether it will be enforced.”
By moving to a brick-and-mortar physical store in the US with local pricing and on-the-ground support, Olive Young may be able to overcome the delivery delays and customs surprises that international customers have raised about its online operations.
Still, the US launch comes as trading conditions have become more complex. US government Imposed 15 percent tariff on low-value Korean importsThose who were earlier given relaxation under the minimum limit from the end of August this year, Targeting Korean goods including cosmetics,
Small Korean aggregators have said they are stockpiling bestsellers ahead of the hike, and some brands said they may be forced to raise prices.
The competitive landscape that Olive Young is entering is equally challenging. American retailers have spent the past two years racing to acquire Korean brands; Sephora has signed exclusive deals with Hanyu and Astura, while Ulta Beauty becomes the only major retailer of stocking medicubeSkin care tools.
Both chains have expanded their assortment of Korean brands, and K-beauty is projected to become a $2 billion industry in the US by July 2025, up 37 percent year-over-year, according to NielsenIQ.
However, despite tariff pressure and increasing competition, Olive Young can still carve out a niche in the US market. Part of that advantage lies in the sharp contrast between the environments created by its stores and those of American beauty giants.
Anna Keller, principal analyst at London-based market research firm Mintel, said business insider: “Unlike Sephora and Ulta, which focus on a few big-name brands, Olive Young is more about discovery. They’re known for curating a mix of well-known and emerging Korean brands, which makes them a favorite for those who want to explore beyond the mainstream.”
This emphasis on “discovery” is also central to the store’s physical design. According to Rebecca Karp, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, who spoke korea heraldThe retailer has built its success on expansive “beauty playgrounds,” or stores that combine more than 10,000 products with interactive displays and category-driven layouts that encourage browsing. For example, the company’s Myeong-dong flagship in central Seoul reportedly handles more than 5,000 purchases per day.
“The thing I love most about Olive Young is the ability to try products, to discover,” Karp said. “For example, if you want to try and use products to ‘slow ageing’, they’re all grouped together, so you can learn about and use the entire ecosystem of products, not just a particular brand you know of.”