Thanks to the popularity of K beauty, related companies are preparing large-scale offline events one after another. Following CJ Olive Young, Kurly, Musinsa, and Coupang, this year Kakao's fashion platform Zigzag will also hold an event.
According to the retail industry on the 8th, Zigzag and Coupang are preparing large-scale offline beauty festivals this month, while Olive Young and Musinsa will follow next month.
The women's fashion platform Zigzag will operate its first offline pop-up store from the 11th to the 13th at XYZ Seoul in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. This is an offline expansion of the online discount promotion beauty festa held four times a year in the Zigzag beauty specialty hall 'Jikjak Beauty'. More than 2,100 beauty brands will participate, showcasing popular and new products at discounts of up to 97%.
In line with the platform concept emphasizing 'personalized shopping', customer-centric programs such as skin tone diagnosis and product creation tailored to preferences will be conducted. Unlike other beauty festas that require advance purchase of tickets for entry, this event allows entrance without purchasing a separate ticket.
From the 18th to the 20th, Coupang will hold a 'Mega Beauty Show Virtual Store' at the same location. This event, which has continued for the fifth year since 2023, allows participants to experience popular domestic beauty brand products. Only customers who purchase entry tickets (100 won) in advance will be admitted.
The beauty festa is an event where various cosmetics brands can be experienced and samples can be received, which was first launched by Olive Young in 2019. It was designed as a fair to promote domestic small and medium brands without separate offline stores and with low recognition.
In the case of the awards and festa held by Olive Young for five days in 2023, all 15,000 tickets sold out in just 30 seconds. Subsequently, e-commerce platforms have intensified competition as they host online and offline festas that also include sales events to boost beauty product sales.
The reason the festa schedule is concentrated in May and June is that cosmetic sales peak during this period. Musinsa, which held its first offline beauty festa last September, has also decided to move its event to this May and June. A Musinsa official noted, 'Cosmetics are generally sold more in May and August to September,' adding that they are considering holding the event in line with the season when customers increase outdoor activities.
As beauty festas are held simultaneously, there are suggestions that companies need differentiation strategies. In response, Olive Young, the original creator of the beauty festa, is preparing a unique festa. Since 2019, Olive Young has held a beauty festa that incorporates awards, and to differentiate from late entrants, it did not hold a festa last year and is preparing a new format event this year.
The company will hold a festival-type beauty event called 'Olive Young Festa 2025' from May 21 for a week in the area around Nodeul Island in Seoul. The space will be expanded more than twice, and the duration will be extended to one week to strengthen its presence as a 'leader in K beauty'.
An Olive Young official explained, 'It was rebranded to make the festa not just an event for setting up booths and handing out samples but a festival for customers and brands across the entire K beauty industry.'
Meanwhile, according to the global market research firm Euromonitor, the size of the domestic beauty market reached 17.3412 trillion won in 2023, growing 12% compared to 2018. The export value has also reached record highs every year.