K-beauty Mecca Draws Tourists from 190 Countries, Foreign Sales Soar to 1 Trillion Won

[The Financial News] Buoyed by the popularity of K-beauty, CJ Olive Young has become a must-visit stop for foreign tourists, and its share of sales from overseas visitors is expected to exceed 30% this year. With the number of foreign visitors to Korea forecast to top 20 million this year, the company plans to actively diversify its business, not only in the domestic market but also through OLIVE YOUNG Global and direct overseas expansion.
According to industry sources on the 9th, Olive Young’s sales to inbound foreign tourists are estimated to have exceeded 1.1 trillion won last year. Foreign customers accounted for 28% of Olive Young’s offline sales last year. From January to November alone, sales to visiting foreigners reached 1.09 trillion won, surpassing the 1 trillion won mark for the first time.
The share of foreign customers in Olive Young’s sales has been climbing steadily. In 2022, overseas visitors made up just 2% of offline sales, but their share rose to 11% in 2023 (311.3 billion won) and 21% in 2024 (727.2 billion won). In value terms, foreign sales last year were nearly four times higher than in 2023.
Olive Young is widely credited with elevating K-beauty into a core element of tourism in Korea. Foreign tourists now visit Olive Young specifically to experience K-beauty brands. According to the company’s analysis, the number of inbound visitors who shopped at three or more Olive Young stores jumped from 185,000 in 2023 to 750,000 last year, more than a fourfold increase. By carrying over 2,000 brands, from major conglomerates to startups, Olive Young has maximized purchasing demand from overseas customers.
The nationalities of foreign visitors to Olive Young are also becoming more diverse. Chinese tourists, who accounted for 40% of foreign customers in 2019 before the pandemic, now make up less than 30%. By contrast, visitors from North America exceeded 10% last year. The number of tourists from Europe is also rising, and as of last year, Olive Young had welcomed customers from 190 different countries.
Olive Young is reshaping store operations to reflect growing demand from foreign visitors. At stores in global tourist hubs such as Myeongdong, it prioritizes hiring staff who speak English, Chinese, and Japanese, and it provides product descriptions and promotional messages in multiple languages. The number of stores in major tourist districts has expanded from around 20 in the 2010s to about 130 today. The network is also spreading beyond Seoul to regions such as Busan Metropolitan City and Jeju Island. The Apgujeong Rodeo Branch, located in an area with a high concentration of beauty tourists, operates as a specialized store, focusing on skincare products and beauty devices for post-treatment care.
Sales from cross-border e-commerce, which allow foreign customers to buy K-beauty products in their home countries, are also increasing alongside offline growth. Since introducing seasonal sales on OLIVE YOUNG Global in 2021, the company has been ramping up promotions. The value of orders during last year’s first sale more than doubled from a year earlier. Olive Young is accelerating its overseas business by opening a standalone store in the United States this year and operating a dedicated K-beauty Zone inside Sephora, one of the world’s largest multi-brand beauty retailers. It also recently established its first U.S. logistics center in Bloomington, California, in the State of California.
An industry official commented, "Foreign tourist hotspots are increasingly spreading beyond Seoul into regional areas, and with the government targeting 30 million inbound visitors, the popularity of K-beauty, including Olive Young, is likely to continue."
unsaid@fnnews.com Kang Myung-yeon Reporter