K-beauty shopping diversifies beyond Olive Young

Various beauty products are on display at Musinsa Beauty's offline store on the second floor of Musinsa Megastore Seongsu in Seoul. Courtesy of Musinsa Beauty

K-beauty shopping is expanding beyond Olive Young, long the dominant retail destination for both domestic consumers and foreign tourists, to a wider range of platforms.

Retail platforms that previously focused on either fashion or food have begun testing their capabilities in beauty, while e-commerce platforms and department stores have introduced separate brands and platforms dedicated to the cosmetics sector. For an industry that has experienced exponential growth worldwide, a more diversified retail landscape is expected to further boost consumption and support its long-term growth.

The country's three largest retail platforms are all expanding into the beauty market. Musinsa Beauty, operated by fashion giant Musinsa, is leveraging the company's rapidly expanding offline store network in Korea and overseas to broaden its beauty portfolio and grow its offline presence.

On Friday, global luxury makeup brand NARS joined Musinsa Beauty, adding to its luxury lineup that includes MAC and Miu Miu. Musinsa Megastore Seongsu, the company’s flagship store in one of Seoul’s trendiest neighborhoods, opened a NARS pop-up store last week.

Musinsa Beauty will open new dedicated road shops in Hongdae in September and Seongsu in November.

E-commerce giants Kurly and Coupang have also joined the race. Coupang’s first beauty business began in 2023 with a category called Rocket Luxury. It became a separate platform with a dedicated brand and app called R.LUX the following year. It has so far introduced 40 domestic and foreign brands including global luxury labels Jo Malone London and Laura Mercier. Along with Olive Young and Musinsa, Coupang has become one of the big three beauty platforms here thanks to R.LUX.

Inside an Off Beauty store in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province / Screen capture from Facebook

Kurly, popular for fresh food products and fast delivery, launched Beauty Kurly in 2022 with BLABKPINK’s Jennie as its face. Now the platform offers 1,000 brands ranging from skin care to makeup, hair care and body care.

Offline stores, more visible and directly communicating with customers with sample-testing and tips from store specialists, have become another league of their own.

Off Beauty has emerged as an offline beauty outlet offering products at the cheapest possible prices. Q&B International, operating the platform, is able to reduce the prices by directly purchasing surplus products from makers at a lower price. The platform has earned the nickname “Daiso in the beauty market.” First opening its store in 2024, Off Beauty’s network has expanded to 45 stores here and expected to open its first overseas store in Mongolia in August.

Daiso, popular for everyday items ranging 5,000 won ($3.33) or under, is steadily expanding its beauty items shelves, targeting those interested in more affordable beauty products than pricier brands.

Department Stores, meanwhile, have showcased their own beauty platforms with selective luxury brands. Hyundai unveiled Coasis at its premium outlet in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, last year and has opened three additional stores in May and June. In April, Lotte opened its first beauty platform The Cast at its Cheongnyangni branch in Seoul, while Shinsegae’s Chicor is now at 22 locations, including department stores and road shops.

The growing competition between old and new platforms is drawing expectations that the beauty industry is shaping up to offer more variety of choices for K-beauty consumers worldwide.

An employee applies skin care product to a visitor at a Chicor store in Seoul, May 18. Courtesy of Shinsegae Department Store

“Since the exit of (GS Retail’s) Lalavla and (Lotte Shopping’s) LOHB’s in 2021, the domestic beauty retail market has been dominated by Olive Young. But with the current surge of new K-beauty brands, many are looking for alternative retail and exposure channels because they either cannot get into Olive Young or face high hurdles like steep commission fees,” a Musinsa Beauty official said.

“For brands, the diversification of platforms means having more opportunities to gain consumer exposure. Since it is realistically difficult for individual beauty brands to run their own brick-and-mortar stores, the emergence of new offline platforms offers them a great chance to build brand awareness and connect with customers face-to-face.”

The platform diversification also allows consumers to be exposed to more beauty products with the introduction of new brands, according to the official.

“From a consumer perspective, having more choices leads to more active price competition and a wider variety of products. Foreign tourists at Musinsa Megastore Seongsu said they now discover new K-beauty brands that were not available at traditional channels. Since price benefits and deals spread rapidly via social media, the rise of these new platforms is undeniably a win for consumers,” the official said.

“Ultimately, a market structure where diverse platforms compete and discover different brands will be the catalyst for the K-beauty industry to mature and sustain its long-term growth.”