CJ Olive Young will open its first store in the continental United States next week, giving Korea’s largest beauty retailer its first physical foothold in the world’s biggest cosmetics market.
The company said Thursday it will open the store on May 29 in Pasadena, California, alongside a dedicated U.S. online mall.
Rendering of CJ Olive Young’s first U.S. store in Pasadena, California, which opens May 29. (Courtesy of CJ Olive Young)
The 803-square-meter standalone store will sit on Colorado Boulevard, the main retail spine of Old Pasadena, a 22-block shopping and dining district northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Nearby tenants include Apple, Lululemon, Alo Yoga and Tiffany & Co.
The store will initially carry more than 5,000 products from about 400 beauty and wellness brands, with Korean brands making up more than 80 percent of the lineup.
Mediheal, Biodance, Anua, Torriden, Rom&nd, Fwee, Mise-en-scène, UNOVE, Innerb and Foodology will be among the Korean brands sold, alongside global brands including The Ordinary, CeraVe, Supergoop!, Sol de Janeiro and Touchland.
Korean beauty is no longer difficult to find in the U.S. Ulta Beauty has expanded its Korean beauty offerings in May through its marketplace business, while Sephora operates a dedicated Korean skincare section online.
An Olive Young spokesperson told Korea Biomedical Review that U.S. retailers have already given K-beauty access to American shoppers, but said access alone does not explain a category built around fast-changing ingredients, routines and product formats.
“Sephora and other retailers have introduced K-beauty products,” the spokesperson said. “But Olive Young has hundreds of brands and thousands of products, and because we are so closely tied to K-beauty, we understand its diversity and the speed of its trends. Without that expertise, it is difficult to present these products properly.”
Olive Young said it selected products using Korean consumer data, U.S. customer demand and each brand’s potential to grow overseas, and plans to refresh parts of the lineup as often as every two weeks.
The company also plans localized promotions and a U.S. membership program called OY MEMBERS, linking online and offline purchases through spending-based tiers, birthday rewards, extra points and monthly member discounts.
Inside the store, products will be arranged by ingredients, skin concerns, functions, textures and routines, not only by category. The store will include testing areas for cleansers, toner pads and sunscreen, along with skin and scalp analysis services.
Customers will also be able to book free skincare lessons at a consultation zone called THE BEAUTY LAB, covering double cleansing, serum and cream layering, sun care and pad selection.
The Pasadena store’s employees were hired locally, with many coming from retail and beauty industry backgrounds, Olive Young told Korea Biomedical Review. Some U.S. staff visited Korea in March to observe Olive Young stores and receive training from Korean employees.
The company will use what it calls a “half-service” model in the U.S., letting customers browse freely while staff offer recommendations when needed.
Olive Young is opening its U.S. online mall the same day, supported by a 3,600-square-meter distribution center in Bloomington, California.
The company said the new system will cut delivery times to three to five business days from five to seven days, and lower the free-shipping threshold to $35 from $60 on its global mall.
“The idea is that customers can try products in the store, then order them easily from home afterward,” the spokesperson said. “In the long term, we want these products to become part of daily skincare routines.”
Olive Young said it plans to open another store in the Los Angeles area in the first half of this year, but did not identify the location.
The company has said it will focus first on Los Angeles and California before expanding into central, southern and eastern U.S. markets, including New York. It has not given a timetable for those regions or named specific states under review.
Kim Ji-hye
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