[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Olive Young, the 'representative K-beauty platform', is making full-scale inroads into the US market to expand its global business.

CJ Olive Young (hereinafter referred to as Olive Young) announced on the 4th that it established a local corporation, 'CJ Olive Young USA', in Los Angeles (LA), California, USA. The plan is to use the US as a forward base for leaping to the 'No. 1 global K-beauty platform' and accelerate the 'globalization of K-beauty' based on the experience and know-how contributed to creating the 'K-beauty industry ecosystem' in Korea.

The United States is an attractive market in terms of both market size and influence. According to Euromonitor, a global market research firm, the global beauty market size in 2023 will be $570 billion (approximately KRW 740 trillion, based on the 2023 exchange rate). Of that, the US beauty market is estimated to be the largest in the world for a single country at $120 billion (approximately KRW 156 trillion). This is more than 10 times the total overseas exports of K-beauty last year (USD 10.2 billion).

American consumers' response to K-beauty is also enthusiastic. According to statistics from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and others, K-beauty exports to the US increased by an average of 20% annually from 2020 to 2023. Considering that about 40% of the US population is in their 10s and 30s, who are sensitive to fashion and receptive to new trends, if K-beauty becomes more accessible, the local market is expected to grow rapidly thanks to the popularity of young consumers.

◆ US corporation supports localization of marketing, product sourcing, and logistics systems… K-beauty offline stores also planned

With the establishment of the U.S. corporation, Olive Young is actively pursuing localization of key functions for business expansion, such as product sourcing, marketing, and logistics systems, and is strengthening its global mall capabilities. It is also pursuing the goal of opening its first local offline store.

Olive Young Global Mall is an online mall where overseas consumers can purchase K-beauty products directly (purchase directly overseas), and is available in 150 countries around the world. It is particularly popular in North America, where consumers are younger and more familiar with e-commerce, and a significant portion of Olive Young Global Mall sales are generated in the North American region.

Olive Young plans to evolve into a localized K-beauty platform with the optimal user experience (UX/UI), payment methods, and product information display methods for local customers. In addition, it plans to analyze local data and needs of the online mall to source K-beauty products that local customers want, enhance product curation, and strengthen marketing to actively promote K-beauty brands to the U.S. market.

The offline store is currently reviewing several candidate sites. The plan is to combine the local data and insights accumulated through the global mall with the domestic omnichannel success formula to present a store that curates various K-beauty brands and trends.

We also plan to improve logistics stability and delivery satisfaction. First, this year, we will link the global mall and Olive Young Korea headquarters systems to manage inventory receipts and shipments in real time, and in the future, we plan to build a logistics network that directly ships products from local locations through collaboration with CJ Korea Express’ US branch.

Lee Sun-jung, CEO of Olive Young, said, “The establishment of the U.S. corporation will serve as a stepping stone to find new growth engines in the global market together with small and medium-sized brands, which are Olive Young’s key partners, and to create a sustainable K-beauty growth environment.” She added, “We will do our best to play the role of a ‘K-beauty growth booster’ in overseas markets so that the K-beauty industry can continue to grow.”