In September this year, Hello Kitty made an appearance at OLIVE YOUNG Jeonju Town wearing a bibimbap hat. At the Seomyeon Town store in Busan, she held fish cakes, while at the Hamdeok store in Jeju, she carried Udo peanuts. At another store in Seoul, Hello Kitty welcomed customers dressed in a traditional Korean hanbok. These were some of the scenes from OLIVE YOUNG City Log, the retailer’s second collaboration campaign with Sanrio Characters, following the success of the previous year’s campaign. Running throughout the month of September, the campaign brought together 81 brands and 321 collaboration products. Both the number of participating brands and the product lineup had grown substantially compared with the first Sanrio Characters collaboration from last year. What has driven such rapid growth in just 12 months? From individual brands to a platform-wide experience Traditionally, in the beauty industry, character collaborations traditionally were pursued by individual brands. At the end of 2024, BRINGGREEN and wakemake partnered with Netflix’s Squid Game Season 2 to release collaborative editions. The following year, colorgram teamed up with Korean character ZANMANG LOOPY. In each case, a single brand worked with an intellectual property (IP) partner to develop unique product editions. A turning point came in July 2025, when OLIVE YOUNG launched LOVE SUMMER, its first company-wide character collaboration featuring Sanrio Characters. The scope of collaboration shifted from individual brands to the retail platform itself. Everything from product displays and shopping bags to badges on employees’ uniforms became part of a unified in-store experience. The initiative delivered results that exceeded expectations. The impact, measured in numbers Sales for brands participating in the July 2025 Sanrio characters Love Summer campaign rose 60% year on year. Over three weeks, pop-up stores in Seongsu and Hongdae attracted a combined 33,000 visitors. One particularly notable figure was the share of younger customers who purchased collaborative products: 33% of OLIVE YOUNG members aged 15–29 made a purchase during the campaign. The results showed that character collaborations were not only able to capture attention, but could also translate that interest into sales. The appeal extended to international customers, too. At a pop-up store held with POP MART at OLIVE YOUNG N Seongsu in December 2025, international customers accounted for 70% of sales during the event. It was another indication that character collaborations could resonate with visitors traveling to Korea. Building on these results, OLIVE YOUNG expanded its character IP partnerships in 2026. In February, a collaboration with Korean character mangomee brought together 21 brands and 119 products. And, in May, a Pokémon collaboration grew the lineup to 230 products from 61 brands. The latest Sanrio characters campaign took the scale further still, with 81 participating brands and 321 products. Connecting smaller brands with global IPs There is a structural reason behind the program’s rapid growth: OLIVE YOUNG covers the full cost of IP licensing for participating brands. For individual brands, collaborating with global IPs can be difficult to pursue. Licensing agreements, rights management and compliance with design guidelines all require considerable financial and human resources. Smaller brand partners may have the capabilities to develop compelling products but lack the resources to take on an IP collaboration independently. By negotiating directly with Sanrio and bringing participating brands together, OLIVE YOUNG lowers that barrier. So, rather than navigating the complexities of licensing on their own, brand partners can focus on product development. The model makes global IP partnerships more accessible to a broader range of brands, creating opportunities that might otherwise be difficult to pursue independently. From licensed characters to original creative concepts The program has evolved not only in scale but also in how collaborations are approached. A familiar approach to character collaborations is to apply existing character imagery to product packaging. The 2025 Sanrio campaign went a step further by introducing original illustrations created specifically for the collaboration. The Tanning Edition featured summer-inspired scenes with beaches, picnics and watermelons. It marked the first time Sanrio Characters’ Tanning Edition had been applied to collaborative products in Korea. In 2026, localization became even more sophisticated. For City Log, OLIVE YOUNG developed original visual assets depicting Sanrio Characters exploring Korean cities and enjoying local lifestyles. The designs incorporated elements reflecting the tastes of consumers from ages 15–29, including school uniforms, pixel graphics and leopard-print streetwear. The campaign also introduced Hello Kitty in a hanbok (traditional Korean attire), drawing inspiration from the strong interest international tourists show in experiencing traditional Korean clothing. One of the campaign’s most distinctive initiatives was its collection of region-specific character designs. OLIVE YOUNG selected 12 locations—Daegwallyeong, Daejeon, Boseong, Buyeo, Busan, Gangneung, Gimcheon, Gwangju, Seoul, Suwon, Udo and Jeonju—to develop character visuals inspired by local specialties and foods. These designs appeared not only on products and merchandise but also in the exterior designs and photo zones of stores in the selected locations. The result was a new way of experiencing OLIVE YOUNG stores. When a store in Jeonju offers a different visual experience from one in Busan, visiting the store itself can become part of a travel itinerary. By highlighting regional specialties alongside its stores, the initiative also creates opportunities to connect the retail experience with local destinations. Taking character collaborations beyond the store OLIVE YOUNG has continued to extend its character collaborations into customers’ everyday lives, moving beyond retail promotions into events, original content and interactive experiences. In September 2025, the retailer held the 2025 SEOUL Sanrio X OLIVE YOUNG CUTIE RUN, a Sanrio-themed running event in the Yeouido area that drew 15,000 participants. Building on the July campaign, the event connected OLIVE YOUNG’s core value of Healthy Beauty with the growing interest in wellness and running. It demonstrated how character collaborations could extend beyond the store and into customers’ lifestyles. In December, OLIVE YOUNG brought POP MART into its OLIVE YOUNG Awards program. For the first time, the annual awards—which identify popular products based on 180 million purchases over the year—incorporated a global character IP. Award-winning products were presented in a space designed around the concept of Santa’s post office. The February 2026 collaboration with mangomee expanded the format into original storytelling. Working with the character’s creator, OLIVE YOUNG released a webtoon set in the character’s fictional universe, demonstrating how a collaboration could extend beyond products and merchandise into content. The May Pokémon collaboration added another dimension through gaming. In conjunction with Pokémon Mega Festa 2026 in Seongsu, OLIVE YOUNG N Seongsu was included in the stamp rally route for the augmented reality game Pokémon GO. Stamp rallies and photo zones were also set up at 13 key OLIVE YOUNG stores nationwide. The collaboration also introduced exclusive designs featuring Smoliv, a Pokémon whose appearance resembles an olive, a signature symbol of OLIVE YOUNG. The designs were incorporated into shopping bags, product displays and store exteriors. From products to events, and from original content to gaming, the scope of OLIVE YOUNG’s character collaborations continues to expand each year. A growing global stage for collaboration Products from the City Log campaign were available at OLIVE YOUNG stores in Korea, through its Korean online store and across all regions available through OLIVE YOUNG Global. They also were made available in the U.S. offline stores and online stores this month. For participating brands, the expanded distribution channels created more opportunities to reach customers around the world. OLIVE YOUNG’s character collaborations have evolved with each new partnership. The scale has grown, the creative approach has become more ambitious, and the experience has expanded into new spaces and formats. With each campaign bringing a new interpretation of familiar characters, there is always something different waiting to be discovered the next time customers step into an OLIVE YOUNG store.