CJ Olive Young’s First US Store Draws 400m Queue... Century City Location in LA to Open This Month

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CJ Olive Young announced on June 1 that it had a successful launch of its first offline store in Pasadena, California, United States, on May 29 (local time). Even before the grand opening, a so-called 'open run' queue had formed, and on the day of the opening, the line extended for about 400 meters.

The opening event was attended by Olive Young CEO Lee Sunjeong and Olive Young America Managing Director Kwon Gaeun, as well as Olive Young staff who prepared for the Pasadena store opening. Locally hired store employees contributed to the festive atmosphere by performing to ROSE’s "Apartment" as part of the opening ceremony.

CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun also visited the store in person along with Lee Sun-ho, Head of CJ Group’s Future Strategy Group, to show support. Chairman Lee emphasized, "The first Olive Young store in the United States is more than just opening a store; it is the first step into the world’s largest market and marks a great beginning toward global expansion," adding, "We must go beyond K-beauty and K-wellness to promote a healthy and stylish lifestyle culture in the daily lives of American customers."

On May 29th, local consumers wait to enter the Olive Young store in Pasadena, USA, on its opening day. CJ Olive Young

Interest from the local community was high. Leading LA broadcaster KTLA dispatched a broadcast vehicle from 7 a.m., four hours before the opening, and provided live reports from the scene every hour for a total of five times. ABC covered the event with aerial footage from a helicopter, while major U.S. media outlets such as CNN and The Wall Street Journal also visited to report on the opening.

The areas that attracted the most local consumers were the "Skin Scan" zone, which offered skin diagnosis services, and "THE BEAUTY LAB," which provided basic skincare lessons such as K-beauty routines based on skin analysis results. In terms of sales, basic cosmetics—including skincare, sun care, mask packs, and cleansing products—accounted for more than 60% of total sales, the highest proportion. Makeup categories such as lip products and cushions followed, confirming strong interest in K-beauty color cosmetics. In addition, hair care, body care, beauty accessories, as well as bagel chips, sauces, and health foods in the K-wellness category, were all sold evenly.

Various elements such as employees’ Korean-style greetings, the Olive Young shopper bag, and free gift events generated significant buzz on social media. From May 28 to 30, over 1,000 pieces of content were uploaded to TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms, recording a combined total of more than 8 million views.

Local consumers purchasing K-Beauty products on the opening day of Olive Young Pasadena, USA store. CJ Olive Young

Olive Young plans to open an additional store this month at Westfield Century City, a premier shopping mall in LA. Century City is a key commercial district in LA, known for attracting young professionals, high-income consumers, and global tourists. While the Pasadena store targeted customers interested in K-culture and experiential shopping, the Century City location will focus on expanding its reach to a broader base of premium and global customers.

With this entry into the western U.S., Olive Young plans to gradually expand its touchpoints with local customers to major regions across the United States, including the East and South-Central regions, thereby enhancing brand awareness. The company aims to build an omni-channel strategy that integrates online and offline channels, and to evolve into a "local beauty retailer" that encompasses not only beauty, but also wellness, food, and the overall lifestyle sector.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.