Olive Young
Olive Young is a South Korean health and beauty retailer operated by CJ Olive Young Corporation.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Olive Young is a South Korean health and beauty retail chain operated by CJ Olive Young Corporation, a CJ Group company. It opened its first store in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, in December 1999 and helped establish the modern health-and-beauty retail format in South Korea. Rather than concentrating on a single cosmetics label, the business operates as a multi-brand retailer offering cosmetics, skincare, personal-care products, health-related merchandise, and associated lifestyle goods. The retailer developed within CJ Group and expanded through a combination of physical stores, digital commerce, loyalty services, and international distribution. In 2002, it entered a joint venture with Dairy Farm International Retail Group. That arrangement ended in 2008 after CJ Group acquired Dairy Farm’s remaining interest, returning full control of the venture to CJ. Olive Young subsequently broadened its assortment by importing organic cosmetics from the United States brand Juice Beauty in 2009. In 2010, it introduced CJ ONE, an integrated membership service connecting participating CJ affiliates. The company’s corporate structure changed in December 2014, when Olive Young merged with CJ Systems and adopted the name CJ Olive Networks Co., Ltd. It continued to develop its retail infrastructure, including the introduction of electronic shelf-labeling technology in stores in 2018. In 2019, Olive Young launched its Global Mall and presented an international-facing positioning around being a lifestyle platform for healthy beauty. Its operating model combines curated brand selection, accessible store locations, trend-oriented merchandising, private-label and exclusive-product activity, and online purchasing. Olive Young’s stated brand philosophy is associated with natural and healthy living, reflected in its slogan “All live young with Olive Young.” The chain became the leading player in South Korea’s health-and-beauty market, a position it had reinforced by 2021 despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2024, the company operated more than 1,300 stores in South Korea and also sold through online channels. The business has increasingly pursued overseas growth. According to the supplied reference material, Olive Young announced in November 2025 that it planned to open its first store in the United States, in Pasadena, California, in May 2026. In January 2026, it also announced a partnership with Sephora that was intended to create dedicated space for Olive Young products in Sephora locations. These plans indicate a strategy of using both direct retail expansion and partnerships to introduce Korean beauty brands and Olive Young’s retail proposition to international customers.
History
Olive Young began operations in December 1999, when its first store opened in Sinsa-dong in Seoul’s Gangnam district. Managed within CJ Group, the retailer helped pioneer the health-and-beauty store format in South Korea. Its model brought together multiple cosmetics, personal-care, health, and lifestyle categories in a convenient retail environment rather than relying on the department-store model or on a single branded product line. In 2002, Olive Young formed a joint venture with Dairy Farm International Retail Group. The partnership connected the Korean business with an international retail operator, but it did not remain permanent. In 2008, CJ Group completed the acquisition of Dairy Farm’s interest in the joint venture, giving CJ full control. The retailer expanded its assortment and customer proposition during the following years. In 2009, it began importing organic cosmetics from Juice Beauty, a U.S. cosmetics company. In 2010, it launched CJ ONE, an integrated membership service for CJ affiliates. The membership system supported a broader CJ ecosystem and gave Olive Young a mechanism for customer engagement beyond individual store transactions. A major corporate reorganization took place in December 2014, when Olive Young merged with CJ Systems and changed its corporate name to CJ Olive Networks Co., Ltd. The reorganization placed the retail operation within a wider technology and services structure. Olive Young also continued to modernize store operations. In 2018, it introduced electronic shelf labeling, a retail technology intended to improve the management and updating of in-store price information. Internationalization became more explicit in 2019. Olive Young launched its Global Mall and adopted an international-facing slogan describing the company as a global lifestyle platform proposing healthy beauty. The digital channel provided a route for customers outside South Korea to access Olive Young’s assortment while allowing the company to promote Korean beauty products beyond its domestic store network. The COVID-19 pandemic placed pressure on physical retail in South Korea, but reference material identifies Olive Young as having consolidated its leading position in the domestic health-and-beauty market by 2021. The company’s multichannel structure, including online sales, supported its ongoing operation during changing consumer and retail conditions. By 2024, Olive Young operated more than 1,300 stores and maintained an online business. The company’s later plans point toward a more substantial international presence. In November 2025, Olive Young announced plans for its first U.S. store, scheduled for Pasadena, California, in May 2026. In January 2026, it announced a partnership with Sephora involving planned dedicated space for Olive Young products. These developments suggest an expansion approach that combines the company’s own retail footprint with partnerships capable of placing Korean beauty products within established international beauty distribution networks.
- 2026
Sephora partnership announced
[1]Olive Young announced a planned Sephora partnership involving dedicated space for Olive Young products.
- 2025
First U.S. store announced
[1]Olive Young announced plans for a first U.S.-based store in Pasadena, California, targeted for May 2026.
- 2024
Store network exceeded 1,300 locations
[1]Reference material reported that Olive Young operated more than 1,300 stores and also sold products online.
- 2021
Domestic market leadership reinforced
[1]Olive Young consolidated its leading position in South Korea’s health-and-beauty market despite pandemic-related retail disruption.
- 2019
Global Mall launched
[1]Olive Young launched its Global Mall and adopted an international-facing healthy-beauty lifestyle-platform slogan.
- 2018
Electronic shelf labeling introduced
[1]Olive Young introduced electronic shelf labels in its stores as part of its retail-operations modernization.
- 2014
Merged with CJ Systems
[1]Olive Young merged with CJ Systems in December and changed its corporate name to CJ Olive Networks Co., Ltd.
- 2010
CJ ONE membership service launched
[1]The company introduced CJ ONE, an integrated membership service serving CJ affiliates.
- 2009
Imported Juice Beauty products
[1]Olive Young began importing organic cosmetics from the U.S. brand Juice Beauty.
- 2008
CJ completed acquisition of Dairy Farm’s stake
[1]CJ Group acquired Dairy Farm International’s remaining interest, ending the joint venture and giving CJ full control.
Products and positioning
A mass-premium, trend-oriented multi-brand health and beauty retailer and lifestyle platform focused on accessible Korean cosmetics, personal care, wellness, and beauty discovery.
Retail format · 1999
Olive Young stores
Olive Young’s core offering is its multi-brand health and beauty store network. Stores bring together skincare, makeup, haircare, body care, personal-care, health, wellness, beauty tools, and lifestyle products. The format emphasizes discovery and assortment breadth, allowing customers to compare established brands, emerging Korean labels, imported products, and selected exclusive or private-label merchandise in one retail environment.
E-commerce
Olive Young Online Store
The Olive Young online channel extends the company’s assortment beyond its physical stores and supports shopping across cosmetics, personal care, wellness, and lifestyle categories. Its digital presence is part of the retailer’s multichannel model and complements the domestic store network.
International e-commerce · 2019
Global Mall
Launched in 2019, Global Mall was Olive Young’s international-facing online retail platform. It was designed to present the company as a global lifestyle platform for healthy beauty and to make Korean beauty products available to customers beyond South Korea.
Loyalty and membership service · 2010
CJ ONE
CJ ONE is an integrated membership service introduced in 2010 for CJ affiliates. For Olive Young, it functions as a group-level customer engagement and loyalty mechanism rather than as a standalone beauty product.
Marketing campaigns
- 2019Global Lifestyle Platform to Propose Healthy Beauty
South Korea · International online markets
Olive Young launched Global Mall alongside an international-facing brand slogan positioning the company as a lifestyle platform centered on healthy beauty.
Outcome. The initiative supported Olive Young’s international e-commerce positioning and helped connect its Korean retail assortment with overseas customers.
Brand decisions
2026
Planned Sephora partnershipStrategyBackground
Olive Young pursued partnership-based international distribution in addition to its own store expansion.
Action taken
The company announced plans for dedicated Olive Young product space within Sephora.
Aftermath
The planned arrangement would give Olive Young products access to Sephora’s established beauty retail network.
2025
Planned first U.S. storeStrategyBackground
Olive Young’s international strategy expanded from online access toward direct overseas retail.
Action taken
The company announced plans to open its first U.S.-based store in Pasadena, California, in May 2026.
Aftermath
The planned store would represent Olive Young’s first stated physical retail location in the United States.
2019
International digital expansion through Global MallStrategyBackground
Olive Young sought to extend its health-and-beauty retail proposition beyond South Korea.
Action taken
The company launched Global Mall and introduced an international-facing healthy-beauty platform positioning.
Aftermath
Olive Young gained an international e-commerce channel alongside its domestic stores.
2018
Electronic shelf labeling introducedStrategyBackground
Olive Young continued to modernize its physical-store operations.
Action taken
The retailer introduced electronic shelf-labeling technology in its stores.
Aftermath
The change formed part of the company’s store-technology and operational modernization.
2014
Olive Young merged with CJ SystemsStrategyBackground
CJ reorganized the corporate structure associated with Olive Young in December 2014.
Action taken
Olive Young merged with CJ Systems and adopted the name CJ Olive Networks Co., Ltd.
Aftermath
The retail business operated within the broader CJ Olive Networks structure.
2008
CJ took full control after the Dairy Farm joint ventureM&ABackground
Olive Young had operated a joint venture with Dairy Farm International Retail Group since 2002.
Action taken
CJ Group completed the acquisition of Dairy Farm’s remaining stake and ended the joint venture.
Aftermath
Olive Young continued under full CJ control.
Sources1 sources
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