K-beauty Retailer Olive Young Is Setting Up a U.S. Subsidiary in Los Angeles

K-beauty retailer Olive Young is betting big on the U.S. market.

The CJ Group-owned company, which operates more than 1,350 stores in its home base of South Korea, has announced it will establish a local subsidiary in Los Angeles as it looks to further its footholds in the U.S.

The expansion will allow the retailer to localize business operations such as product sourcing and marketing, and will be followed by the opening of a first brick-and-mortar Olive Young store in the U.S. at a yet-disclosed date.

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“The launch of our U.S. subsidiary marks a significant step in our mission to support small and medium-sized K-beauty brands in the global market,” said CJ Olive Young chief executive officer Lee Sun-jung in a statement. “We will continue to serve as a growth booster for K-beauty worldwide, ensuring that the industry’s upward momentum remains strong.”

Olive Young opened its first store in South Korea in 1999 and today reports more than 4.8 million monthly website users for its online mall. Available in 150 countries, the website offers products by buzzy K-beauty brands like Skin1004, Anua, Romand, Numbuzin and Beauty of Joseon, which became a viral sensation on TikTok for its hero Relief Sun SPF.

The retailer also stocks heritage K-beauty brands including Amorepacific-owned Laneige, Innisfree and Aestura.

Olive Young’s U.S. push is a timely one: Over the last two years, K-beauty has seen a significant uptick in the region. Beauty of Joseon alone previously told WWD its sales in 2023 topped $100 million — up from $31 million in 2020 — with much of that momentum being driven by U.S. consumers.

A 2024 report from Landing International — the company that brought CosRX to Ulta in 2017 and has helped many K-beauty brands break into U.S. retail since — indicates K-beauty exports to the U.S. doubled from $622.3 million in 2020 to $1.2 billion in 2023.

U.S. retailers like Sephora and Ulta Beauty are increasingly looking to bring K-beauty brands into their assortments to meet consumer demand, too. This month, Sephora launched sheet mask brand Biodance and Aestura, while earlier this year Ulta added Anua, best known for gentle yet efficacious products like its $20 Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil, to all of its doors.