OLIVE YOUNG Opens Hongdae Town, a K-Beauty Experience Destination in Seoul

press release

OLIVE YOUNG Opens Hongdae Town, a K-Beauty Experience Destination in Seoul

2024.04.25

6min

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CJ OLIVE YOUNG announced the opening of OLIVE YOUNG Hongdae Town, a 990-square-meter specialized store connecting Hongdae’s culture, art and shopping with K-beauty experiences. The Seoul location features monthly collaboration pop-ups, curated cosmetics and skincare zones, hands-on styling, and spaces for international shoppers, while serving as a hub for six existing Hongdae stores.

OLIVE YOUNG Opens Hongdae Town, a K-Beauty Experience Destination in Seoul

CJ OLIVE YOUNG announced that it would officially open OLIVE YOUNG Hongdae Town, a specialized store designed to offer an enhanced in-store beauty experience, on the 26th. With its vibrant mix of culture, art, and shopping, Hongdae offers an ideal setting for OLIVE YOUNG to introduce the latest K-beauty trends to Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers.

Spanning the first through third floors, Hongdae Town covers approximately 990 square meters of retail space, making it OLIVE YOUNG’s second-largest store after Myeongdong Town, which spans about 1,150 square meters. Located along the main road connecting Exit 8 of Hongik University Station on Seoul Subway Line 2—a well-known meeting point—to Hongdae’s popular pedestrian shopping street, the store is expected to become a destination for both international visitors and trend-conscious Korean shoppers.

More than a retail space, Hongdae Town is designed as an immersive destination where customers can discover and experience the latest beauty trends and brands. Upon entering, visitors are greeted by a collaboration pop-up zone that occupies half of the entrance area. This approach contrasts with the conventional retail model, in which the ground floor is primarily dedicated to product displays designed to drive sales. Instead, the zone will feature monthly collaborations between beauty brands and content from other industries, including film, gaming, and character IPs (intellectual property). The initiative aims to bring an element of fun and discovery to the shopping experience, particularly for customers in their teens and twenties.

The second and third floors showcase carefully curated beauty products that reflect OLIVE YOUNG’s strength in identifying and selecting promising brands. The second floor focuses on color cosmetics and premium brands recommended by OLIVE YOUNG’s merchandising specialists. Key features include the exclusive Luxe Edit section, a Fragrance Bar where customers can sample perfumes from popular brands, and a Trending Now zone highlighting brands currently gaining attention.

The third floor is dedicated primarily to skincare and other foundational beauty products. Visitors can explore the Men’s Total Zone, a dedicated space for male customers; the Hair Styling Bar, which offers hands-on styling experiences; and the K-Beauty Now zone, designed with international shoppers in mind.

The store’s design also reinterprets Hongdae’s distinctive street culture through visual elements. Media facades, staircases, and elevators throughout the building incorporate youthful design motifs inspired by K-pop and graffiti art. Photo spots are also placed throughout the store, giving visitors opportunities to capture selfies that reflect their personal style.

Hongdae Town will serve as a hub connecting OLIVE YOUNG’s six existing stores in the Hongdae area: DongGyoDong, Hongdae Airport Railway Station, Hongdae Intersection, Hongdae Main Gate, Hongdae Central, and Hongdae Entrance. At the end of April, OLIVE YOUNG also plans to begin renovating its Hongdae Entrance store into a specialized location catering to international shoppers, with reopening scheduled for the end of June. Through these developments, OLIVE YOUNG aims to offer distinctive K-beauty shopping experiences to both domestic and international customers and establish Hongdae as Seoul’s second major K-beauty destination after Myeongdong.

“We invite customers to discover the distinctive K-beauty content and experiences OLIVE YOUNG has created at the newly opened Hongdae Town,” an OLIVE YOUNG spokesperson said. “We will continue to innovate the in-store customer experience at our retail locations, creating enjoyment that goes beyond shopping.”

OLIVE YOUNG has been upgrading its stores in major tourist districts, including Myeongdong and Hongdae, as its locations have become essential shopping destinations for international visitors to Korea. Last year, international customers made approximately 3.7 million purchases at OLIVE YOUNG that qualified for post-purchase tax refunds. In a recent company survey of international customers, 85% of respondents said they planned to include a visit to OLIVE YOUNG in their Korea travel itineraries.

To better serve this growing customer base, OLIVE YOUNG developed and distributed an in-store operations manual in July last year for employees at approximately 60 specialized stores catering to international shoppers nationwide. Earlier this month, the company also introduced portable translation devices supporting 16 languages across its stores nationwide. These initiatives are part of OLIVE YOUNG’s ongoing efforts to deliver a more seamless shopping experience for international visitors, a key customer group for the K-beauty industry.

OLIVE YOUNG Opens Hongdae Town, a K-Beauty Experience Destination in Seoul CJ OLIVE YOUNG announced that it would officially open OLIVE YOUNG Hongdae Town, a specialized store designed to offer an enhanced in-store beauty experience, on the 26th. With its vibrant mix of culture, art, and shopping, Hongdae offers an ideal setting for OLIVE YOUNG to introduce the latest K-beauty trends to Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers. Spanning the first through third floors, Hongdae Town covers approximately 990 square meters of retail space, making it OLIVE YOUNG’s second-largest store after Myeongdong Town, which spans about 1,150 square meters. Located along the main road connecting Exit 8 of Hongik University Station on Seoul Subway Line 2—a well-known meeting point—to Hongdae’s popular pedestrian shopping street, the store is expected to become a destination for both international visitors and trend-conscious Korean shoppers. More than a retail space, Hongdae Town is designed as an immersive destination where customers can discover and experience the latest beauty trends and brands. Upon entering, visitors are greeted by a collaboration pop-up zone that occupies half of the entrance area. This approach contrasts with the conventional retail model, in which the ground floor is primarily dedicated to product displays designed to drive sales. Instead, the zone will feature monthly collaborations between beauty brands and content from other industries, including film, gaming, and character IPs (intellectual property). The initiative aims to bring an element of fun and discovery to the shopping experience, particularly for customers in their teens and twenties. The second and third floors showcase carefully curated beauty products that reflect OLIVE YOUNG’s strength in identifying and selecting promising brands. The second floor focuses on color cosmetics and premium brands recommended by OLIVE YOUNG’s merchandising specialists. Key features include the exclusive Luxe Edit section, a Fragrance Bar where customers can sample perfumes from popular brands, and a Trending Now zone highlighting brands currently gaining attention. The third floor is dedicated primarily to skincare and other foundational beauty products. Visitors can explore the Men’s Total Zone, a dedicated space for male customers; the Hair Styling Bar, which offers hands-on styling experiences; and the K-Beauty Now zone, designed with international shoppers in mind. The store’s design also reinterprets Hongdae’s distinctive street culture through visual elements. Media facades, staircases, and elevators throughout the building incorporate youthful design motifs inspired by K-pop and graffiti art. Photo spots are also placed throughout the store, giving visitors opportunities to capture selfies that reflect their personal style. Hongdae Town will serve as a hub connecting OLIVE YOUNG’s six existing stores in the Hongdae area: DongGyoDong, Hongdae Airport Railway Station, Hongdae Intersection, Hongdae Main Gate, Hongdae Central, and Hongdae Entrance. At the end of April, OLIVE YOUNG also plans to begin renovating its Hongdae Entrance store into a specialized location catering to international shoppers, with reopening scheduled for the end of June. Through these developments, OLIVE YOUNG aims to offer distinctive K-beauty shopping experiences to both domestic and international customers and establish Hongdae as Seoul’s second major K-beauty destination after Myeongdong. “We invite customers to discover the distinctive K-beauty content and experiences OLIVE YOUNG has created at the newly opened Hongdae Town,” an OLIVE YOUNG spokesperson said. “We will continue to innovate the in-store customer experience at our retail locations, creating enjoyment that goes beyond shopping.” OLIVE YOUNG has been upgrading its stores in major tourist districts, including Myeongdong and Hongdae, as its locations have become essential shopping destinations for international visitors to Korea. Last year, international customers made approximately 3.7 million purchases at OLIVE YOUNG that qualified for post-purchase tax refunds. In a recent company survey of international customers, 85% of respondents said they planned to include a visit to OLIVE YOUNG in their Korea travel itineraries. To better serve this growing customer base, OLIVE YOUNG developed and distributed an in-store operations manual in July last year for employees at approximately 60 specialized stores catering to international shoppers nationwide. Earlier this month, the company also introduced portable translation devices supporting 16 languages across its stores nationwide. These initiatives are part of OLIVE YOUNG’s ongoing efforts to deliver a more seamless shopping experience for international visitors, a key customer group for the K-beauty industry.