Olive Young said on the 21st that it signed an official partnership with Sephora, the world's largest beauty retail channel, and will roll out a "K-beauty zone" curated by Olive Young across Sephora's online and offline channels.
Starting in the second half of this year in six regions, including North America (the United States and Canada) and key Asian countries, K-beauty zones curated by Olive Young are expected to be installed at Sephora stores worldwide, including in the Middle East, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Olive Young pursued collaboration with Sephora to lower the global entry barriers for K-beauty brands and accelerate their expansion. Because the K-beauty industry has a structural characteristic of a high proportion of small and indie brands, there have been practical and structural limits to entering major overseas retailers. However, to rapidly expand recognition of K-beauty in the global market and achieve sustainable growth, entry into major retail with strong local consumer touchpoints is essential.
Olive Young will serve as a "K-beauty curator," selecting brands and products based on proven consumer response and product power in the domestic market and proposing them to Sephora. In the collaboration process, Olive Young will handle the overall planning of the K-beauty zone, including product lineup and shelf configuration in line with Sephora's global standards and setting marketing directions that align with each brand's identity. Sephora will provide store space and execute local distribution and sales.
Through this, brands are expected to meet local consumers directly at Sephora's powerful global customer touchpoints to raise awareness, while also exploring opportunities to expand additional distribution channels locally.
An Olive Young official said, "Sephora is a platform that leads global beauty trends and the optimal partner that can most effectively convey K-beauty's competitiveness," adding, "We will build a stable export ecosystem so that promising domestic brands can demonstrate their value in the global market through credible channels like Sephora."
Priya Venkatesh, Sephora global CMO (Chief Merchandising Officer), said, "We are pleased to present K-beauty curated by Olive Young to beauty fans around the world through our partnership with Olive Young," adding, "With a differentiated product lineup, Sephora's unique perspective on beauty, and a combined shopping experience, we are confident we can offer a standout proposition to beauty fans seeking the most noteworthy K-beauty products."