CJ Group's founding family made a surprise visit to Myeong-dong, a shopping district dominated by foreign shoppers, for an on-site inspection. Observers say the trip aimed to gauge K-beauty’s global reach ahead of CJ Olive Young’s debut in the U.S.
On March 29, CJ Group told its newsroom that on the morning of the 26th Chairman Lee Jae-hyun joined his eldest son Lee Seon-ho, head of the group’s Future Planning Group, CEO Lee Seon-jeong of Olive Young, and other senior executives for a tour of CJ Olive Young's \"Central Myeong-dong Town\" in Seoul.
They chose Myeong-dong because it serves as a live testbed for Olive Young’s K-beauty and K-lifestyle trends. Roughly 95% of this store’s sales come from foreign customers, making it a prime spot to measure overseas demand.
The impromptu stop continues Chairman Lee’s hands-on management approach that began earlier this year. In January, he personally oversaw the opening day of Olive Young’s wellness platform, Olive Better, signaling a clear push to expand K-lifestyle offerings.
That day, his route followed global tourists' shopping patterns. He toured the color cosmetics area that’s wildly popular with Gen Z, examined brand-development strategies at each display, and visited sections covering K-lifestyle products from snacks to supplements.
He also checked must-buy items for foreign visitors, like the health-snack brand Delight Project, and core K-beauty categories such as sheet masks and sun care products.
CJ Olive Young should serve as a springboard for mega brands
The place that held his attention the longest was the specialized \"Mask Library,\" where Olive Young tripled the space for mask displays. The area houses roughly 100 brands, arranged like a library so shoppers can easily find products suited to their skin types.
Staff explained Olive Young is pushing new mask trends beyond sheet masks—think toner pads and pack cleansers—creating growth opportunities for tenant brands and nurturing indie labels with global potential. Chairman Lee responded with a directive: build a sustainable K-beauty ecosystem like this in the U.S., too.
At the sun-care zone \"Sun Everything,\" he urged the company to act as a strong launchpad so mega brands such as Dalba and Round Lab—which each generate more than 100 billion KRW (about $75 million) in Olive Young sales—can break out globally.
He was also intrigued by the \"Global Branding\" space, which spotlights one brand each quarter. Staff said they’ll use foreign visitors' reactions there as a testbed to refine global expansion support programs, and Chairman Lee praised the idea.
Finally, he reiterated that the O2O service linked to the \"Olive Young Global Mall,\" which serves customers in 150 countries, must bring the same innovative DNA to U.S. stores.
