As CJ Olive Young moved to reorganize recently, small and midsize cosmetics brands are closely watching for changes in the presence of private-label (PB) lines on the Olive Young platform. If PB expands, smaller brands could face heavier exposure competition and marketing burdens. Olive Young said the reshuffle was merely a personnel realignment tied to overseas expansion and is unrelated to its domestic online channel strategy.
According to the startup sector and others on the 24th, Olive Young carried out a reorganization to strengthen its business units for overseas expansion. After the reshuffle, some employees in charge of sales on domestic online channels such as Naver, Coupang and Kakao left the company. This prompted speculation in the cosmetics industry that Olive Young may be scaling back sales on domestic online channels while boosting the visibility of PB on its own platform.
Olive Young operates 10 PB brands, including BIOHEAL BOH, WAKEMAKE, Bring Green and Round A'round. It has launched several cosmetics PB brands spanning skin care, slow aging and color cosmetics. The products are sold not only on its own platform but also on Kakao, Coupang and Naver. Recently, alongside expanding its global on- and offline distribution network, it has also been stepping up efforts to target overseas markets with its PB brands.
The reason smaller brands are on edge over the reorganization is tied to Olive Young's platform influence. Core exposure zones—such as recommended items and curated events within Olive Young—directly affect actual sales and brand awareness. If a pullback in domestic online channels coincides with a stronger PB presence within Olive Young, competition will inevitably intensify.
The weaker a small brand's own distribution network or brand recognition, the more it relies on exposure within Olive Young, making it sensitive to shifts in operating direction. More than about 2,900 brands are listed on Olive Young.
A cosmetics brand head said, "Olive Young is not just a sales channel but serves as a core platform for building brand awareness," adding, "changes in internal operations can feel, for listed brands, practically like a shift in the market environment."
Olive Young drew a line against overinterpretation. With the overseas sales ratio of BIOHEAL BOH reaching 70%, many PB brands are seeing traction abroad, and the company said this is not an issue to be linked to domestic distribution strategy. In particular, it said it has no plans to withdraw and will maintain the current setup for domestic online channels such as Naver and for brand zones in duty-free shops.
An Olive Young official said, "The recent reorganization was carried out to expand in overseas markets and to generate better cross-department collaboration." The official added, "We replenished staff in charge of domestic online channel sales, so the total headcount is unchanged," and "we do not give PB products preferential treatment in terms of exposure or marketing."