Olive Young has named a U.S. chief executive officer.
And stepping up to the role at the K-beauty retailer is Gaeun Kwon, who was previously director of global business at the company. Her appointment comes as Olive Young gears up for its first U.S. brick-and-mortar foray, with a flagship slated to open in May in Pasadena, Calif.
The retailer, owned by South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, will also debut a dedicated e-commerce platform for U.S. consumers at the same time. And later this fall, Olive Young will bring a curated K-beauty assortment to Sephora online and in 650 North America stores as it ramps up efforts in the market, where demand for Korean skin care and makeup has exploded since 2024.
“For more than two decades, Olive Young has helped shape how consumers discover and engage with beauty in Korea, and our next focus is the U.S.,” said Kwon, who has spent more than a decade at Olive Young, in a statement.
The retailer will launch a “preview store” in Los Angeles’ Westfield Century City mall ahead of the Pasadena flagship opening in late May, and has confirmed another permanent L.A. store will later open in Torrance’s Del Amo Shopping Center. To support mounting efforts in the region, Olive Young has opened an inaugural North America logistics center in Bloomington, Calif.
Olive Young’s logistics center in Bloomington, Calif.
Courtesy
Olive Young’s focus on the U.S. comes as other players have been revving up their own K-beauty assortments.
Ulta Beauty, which entered K-beauty in 2017 with CosRX’s snail mucin-infused products, tapped Landing International in 2025 to curate a multicategory mix of next-gen Korean brands including I’m From, Mixsoon, Some by Mi, Rom&nd and Medicube, the latter of which is the highest-grossing beauty brand on TikTok Shop.
Target has added buzzy brands like Round Lab and Haruharu Wonder to its assortment, while Walmart sells Beauty of Joseon and Skin1004, both of which have gone viral for their accessible prices and differentiated formulas.
Olive Young, however, sells all of these brands, and has done so for several years.
The retailer is reportedly in talks with more than 400 K-beauty brands as it builds out its U.S. assortment, which will span legacy and indie lines alike, as well as Olive Young’s private label brands including Colorgram, Bring Green, Bioheal BOH and more.
In its home market of South Korea, Olive Young operates 1,390 stores. While Kwon will head up the company’s U.S. entity, presiding CEO Lee Sun-jung will continue to oversee Olive Young’s global business.
“Our goal in the U.S. is to build a differentiated platform on a strong, sustainable foundation,” Kwon said in a statement. “By combining Korea’s fast-moving innovation ecosystem with localized market insight, we are committed to building an omnichannel beauty platform that not only introduces new brands and trends, but also fosters deeper consumer education and long-term brand growth.”
