Prime Highlight
- Sephora has partnered with South Korea’s leading beauty retailer CJ Olive Young to bring curated Korean beauty brands to global customers.
- The collaboration reflects the rising global demand for K-beauty and positions it more centrally in international beauty retail.
Key Facts
- The omnichannel partnership launches this fall, introducing a dedicated K-beauty zone across the US, Canada, Hong Kong SAR, and Southeast Asia.
- In 2024, Korean cosmetics became the largest source of US beauty imports, reaching $1.7 billion, a 54% year-on-year increase.
Background
Sephora, owned by LVMH, has partnered with CJ Olive Young, South Korea’s top beauty and wellness retailer, to bring selected Korean beauty brands to customers around the world. The partnership will launch this fall and will operate as an omnichannel collaboration. It will sell products online and in physical stores.
In the first phase, Sephora will introduce a dedicated K-beauty zone curated by Olive Young. The offering will roll out across the United States, Canada, Hong Kong SAR and Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. The move allows Sephora to tap into Olive Young’s deep understanding of Korean beauty trends, customer data, and high-performing brands.
Priya Venkatesh, Global Chief Merchandising Officer at Sephora, said the partnership will bring a fresh and inspiring assortment to Sephora’s global customers. She said that Olive Young’s strong product selection and Sephora’s retail experience will help shoppers discover some of the most popular Korean beauty products.
The partnership shows that people around the world are increasingly interested in K-beauty. In 2024, Korean cosmetics became the top source of beauty imports into the United States, beating France. US trade data shows that imports reached $1.7 billion, a 54% increase from the year before.
While Sephora has stocked Korean beauty brands before, teaming up with Korea’s largest beauty retailer signals a bigger push to place K-beauty at the centre of global beauty retail. The partnership also gives Sephora early access to emerging Korean trends.
Youngah Lee, Chief Strategy Officer at CJ Olive Young, said the collaboration supports the company’s plans to grow globally and will help Korean brands enter major international markets.
Industry observers say the move could reshape global skincare expectations, with Korean innovation, fast product cycles and performance-led formulas influencing beauty routines worldwide.
