CJ Olive Young to open new K-beauty base in Hongdae
CJ Olive Young is opening its seventh store in the Hongik University area, a popular arts and entertainment district in western Seoul, in a move to raise the company’s K-beauty market share in the area popular among foreign tourists and the country’s MZ Generation, according to the beauty arm of CJ Group, Thursday, a day ahead of the official opening.
The company says the new store, Olive Young Hongdae Town, will become one of its top two sales areas, along with its flagship store in the city’s major tourism hotspot of Myeong-dong. Olive Young has six stores of varying sizes in Myeong-dong, of which the largest is Olive Young Myeongdong Town.
The three-story, 991-square-meter store is the company’s second-biggest store after Olive Young Myeongdong Town.
The Collabo-Pop-Up Zone on the first floor introduces Korea’s latest beauty products. Occupying more than half of the first floor’s shopping area, the zone is expected to be the store’s busiest section where new products are featured each month. It is also where the store showcases all of its cross-promotion products in collaboration with movies, games, characters and other popular multimedia trends.
The second floor houses premium brands, the Trending Now Zone and a dedicated spot for Luxe Edit, a collection of Korean beauty brands curated by Olive Young. The third floor is for male patrons and features Men’s Total Zone and a range of skin care products for men. The K Beauty Now Zone, also on the third floor, is dedicated to helping foreign visitors discover the country’s latest beauty trends.
“At Hongdae Town, we suggest differentiated K-beauty content,” a company official said. Olive Young curates and sells beauty products made by the country’s small and medium-size companies. “We strive to offer a retail shopping experience never before experienced anywhere else in the world.”
In addition to Hongdae Town, Olive Young is refurbishing one of its existing stores in the area. The renewal begins later this month and is scheduled for completion by the end of June.
The company is investing in its stores as it has recently reaffirmed that its stores nationwide have become rising hotspots for tourists. Last year, 3.7 million foreign visitors to Olive Young stores used its tax return service. In a recent survey conducted by the company on its foreign customers, 85 percent responded they had planned on visiting Olive Young stores prior to their Seoul visits.
The company’s investment in its stores has included various measures to boost its popularity among people from outside Korea. Earlier this month, the company introduced portable interpretation devices with 16 languages for all its stores nationwide to support foreign visitors with language interpretation. Last July, the company distributed special guidebooks to the company’s 60 stores dedicated to foreign customers so its employees can better cater to tourists.