Korea's retail industry is rushing to target the Japanese market. Platform companies such as Coupang, Musinsa, and Ohouse, as well as Hyundai Department Store(069960), Lotte Department Store, and major beauty corporations are accelerating the expansion of their Japan business. Across the industry, not limited to certain sectors or companies, Japan is again being highlighted as a key overseas market.
On the 3rd, according to the industry, Coupang has been steadily expanding its food delivery service "Rocket Now" in Japan. The service, which began in parts of Tokyo in Jan. last year, is now operating in major cities across 46 of Japan's 47 prefecture-level jurisdictions. In June, cumulative app downloads surpassed 7 million.
Coupang is cultivating Japan as a key overseas market alongside Taiwan. In Taiwan, it is expanding an e-commerce business based on Rocket Delivery, focusing on building logistics infrastructure, while in Japan it chose a strategy of leading with food delivery services to secure users.
Beyond Coupang, a considerable number of retail platforms are entering Japan. Musinsa, spurred by the success of a Tokyo pop-up in the first half of this year, is accelerating the expansion of its local business. The pop-up, which ran for more than two weeks, drew about 75,000 visitors, and new Japanese members of the Musinsa Global Store increased 109%. The company plans to keep expanding consumer touchpoints with additional pop-ups in Harajuku this month and Osaka in Oct.
Ohouse is also expanding its global commerce business with a focus on Japan. Since Jan. 2024, Ohouse has launched the "Ohouse" service in Japan to sell Korean interior products. As the Japan reverse-direct purchase business continues to grow, it is reportedly reorganizing its local business unit and refining its strategy.
This is a stark contrast to just a few years ago. During the 2019 "No No Japan" boycott of Japanese products, domestic consumers in Korea held strong negative sentiment toward Japan. Coupang, which received investment from Japan's SoftBank, was even embroiled in controversy as a Japanese corporation and was cited online as a target for boycotts. Recently, however, travel to Japan and consumption of Japanese products have become routine, and in Japan, interest has grown beyond K-content to fashion and beauty, leading to assessments that the consumer and cultural distance between the two countries has narrowed significantly.
Reasons the retail industry is refocusing on Japan include relatively low entry barriers such as geographic proximity and logistics efficiency. Compared with the United States or Europe, the expense and time difference burdens are smaller, and consumer tastes and purchasing patterns are relatively similar to Korea, making it easier to localize products and services that have succeeded at home.
Not only platforms but also traditional retail corporations are accelerating their push into Japan. Hyundai Department Store is expanding its Japan business through the K-brand overseas expansion platform "The Hyundai Global." After operating various K-brand pop-ups in Japan, it opened its first flagship store in Omotesando, Tokyo, last month.
Lotte Department Store has kicked off a full-fledged expansion in Japan with the K-fashion overseas expansion platform "Next Lab." Next year, it plans to establish a K-fashion specialty zone in Japan under the name "Lotte Department Store Next Lab." It will be a permanent pop-up-only zone in the form of a regular store, showcasing dozens of Korean brands annually.
Beauty brands are also actively targeting Japan. The Shinsegae International brand VDIVOV has, since June this year, added entries into 120 additional stores in major Japanese beauty distribution channels—including Ainz & Tulpe, Shop In, and Hands—on top of Loft, PLAZA, and @cosme. While broadening its online and offline sales networks, it plans to expand consumer touchpoints through collaborations with local influencers and media and experiential marketing.
COSMAX(192820) will designate Japan as a core strategic market and establish a local production plant, and Amorepacific(090430) is expanding offline sales touchpoints with brands such as Innisfree and Laneige. Olive Young in May introduced 55 K-beauty brands through "Olive Young Festa Japan 2026," held in conjunction with "KCON Japan 2026."
In particular, K-beauty in Japan is already seen as having moved beyond a temporary craze to become a major consumer good. According to the Cosmetics Importers Association of Japan (CIAJ), Korea has remained Japan's No. 1 cosmetics import source since 2022. Last year, Korean cosmetics' market share was 30.8%, and in the first quarter of this year it expanded to 33.5%.