Olive Young's U.S. Debut Draws Overnight Lines as K-Beauty Demand Surges

CJ Olive Young, South Korea's largest health and beauty retailer, has opened its first overseas store in the United States. The launch marks the start of a broader push into North America that also includes a dedicated U.S. online shop.

According to CJ on May 31, the chain's first U.S. location opened around 11 a.m. on May 29 in Pasadena, a small city in California. Crowds formed outside the building from before dawn, with local shoppers lining up around the block to be among the first inside.

Briana Gonzalez, who stood at the front of the line, told CNN she had waited overnight from the evening before. "I'm most excited about the skin care diagnosis," she said. The Pasadena store includes a section called The Beauty Lab, where staff measure a customer's skin condition and recommend matching products.

The company chose the U.S. for its first overseas store partly because of the market's size and influence, but mainly because demand was already there. More than half of sales on Olive Young's global online mall come from the United States, and most of that U.S. business is concentrated in Los Angeles, the metro area that includes Pasadena.

CJ Olive Young plans to open a second U.S. store next month at Westfield Century City, a major shopping mall in Los Angeles. The company will build out the West Coast first, then expand step by step into the East Coast and the south-central region, with a target of five U.S. stores within a year. In August, it will hold a large experiential beauty event called Olive Young Festa in Los Angeles. The event has previously run only in South Korea and is moving overseas for the first time this year. The company also plans to create cross-promotions with other CJ Group businesses in food and entertainment, including bibigo, Tous Les Jours, and KCON.

CJ Group has been investing heavily in the United States, the world's largest consumer market and a country that drives global culture and lifestyle trends. American interest that began with Korean content has spread into Korean food and Korean beauty. In 2024, U.S.-bound exports of Korean cosmetics reached $2.2 billion and food exports reached $1.8 billion, both record highs.

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jae-hyun visited the Pasadena store on opening day to review the company's North American expansion plans with senior executives. He was joined by his eldest son Lee Sun-ho, head of CJ Group's future planning group, along with Kim Hong-ki, CEO of CJ Corporation, and Lee Sun-jung, CEO of CJ Olive Young.

"CJ Olive Young's first U.S. store is a great beginning for our move into the world," Lee said. He added that the store should serve as a bridge for discovering capable small and mid-sized brands and growing them into global mega brands.

Before the Los Angeles visit, Lee stopped at CJ CheilJedang's U.S. headquarters in Minnesota, his first trip there since 2019. He also reviewed North American expansion plans for CJ Foodville, CJ ENM, and CJ Logistics.