CJ Olive Young (hereinafter Olive Young) said on the 19th that it plans to open its first U.S. store in Pasadena, California, in May next year.
Pasadena is a city about 18 kilometers from LA and is known as an area with a high share of high-income professionals, home to various research institutions including Caltech (California Institute of Technology). Olive Young plans to unveil its first store in a core commercial district with active fashion and beauty spending, aiming first at local Millennials and Gen Z who are sensitive to trends.
In addition, to quickly raise brand awareness in the early stage of its U.S. market entry, Olive Young plans to open additional stores in multiple key areas of California, including Westfield in LA, within 2026.
The U.S. store will be set up as a "K-beauty showcase" that concentrates Olive Young's signature MD curation and store operation capabilities. Product lineups will be selected based on customer data from offline stores in Korea and the Olive Young Global Mall in North America, and on-site experiential content will be introduced so customers can try various brands and easily access information. The company is currently working with about 400 K-beauty brands and is also discussing entries with global brands. It plans to expand categories beyond beauty into wellness overall.
An Olive Young official said, "We will spread the heightened global interest in K-beauty to more global consumers and serve as a local base that enables more diverse brands to advance overseas, contributing to the sustainable globalization of the K-beauty industry."
The official added, "Ultimately, we will evolve into a global beauty and wellness distribution platform that spans widely from Korean brands to overseas brands."