Olive Young Experience Now a "Qualification"... Changing Talent Criteria in the Beauty Industry

"Olive Young Talent" in High Demand in the Beauty Industry
APR and Aekyung Industrial Recruit Experienced Staff Dedicated to Olive Young
Gudai Global Appoints Former CJ Olive Young CEO as Co-CEO

Yonhap News Agency

Recently, having "Olive Young experience" has emerged as a new competitive edge in the cosmetics industry job market. In the past, experience in department store or duty-free shop sales was considered a key qualification; now, experience in operating channels for Olive Young, the nation’s largest health and beauty (H&B) store, is being recognized as a core professional competency.

According to the industry on June 14, major beauty companies have been actively seeking to secure personnel dedicated to managing the Olive Young channel. Rather than simply hiring sales staff, these companies are strengthening related organizations by making Olive Young channel operation experience a mandatory requirement. APR recently posted a job opening for "Olive Young Channel Sales MD (Merchandiser) with work experience." The company specified as an application requirement "at least two years and no more than five years of online and offline sales experience with Olive Young." It also stated a preference for candidates with a strong understanding of the Olive Young channel structure and the merchandiser’s operational methods.

In particular, they required candidates to have experience driving sales performance through participation in Olive Young’s signature events, such as "Ol-Yong Pick" and "Ol-Yong Sale." As a preferred qualification, they sought talent who had experienced the entire process from product entry to offline store expansion. The brand to be managed was specified as Aprilskin, making it clear that the focus is on hiring experts in Olive Young channel operations.

Aekyung Industrial has also launched recruitment for experienced sales staff dedicated to the Olive Young channel. One notable point is the organizational structure: Aekyung Industrial has a separate H&B part within its cosmetics retail sales team, introducing it as "dedicated to the Olive Young channel." This team oversees all aspects of Olive Young channel operations, from establishing sales strategies and managing sales targets to planning products and promotions and negotiating with merchandisers. Applicants are also required to have sales experience with Olive Young or other H&B channels, as well as experience operating products and promotions.

The industry sees these changes as closely linked to Olive Young’s expanding influence. Recently, as Olive Young has established itself not just as a cosmetics distribution channel but also as a brand incubation platform, demand for talent with relevant experience has increased in tandem. In the past, cosmetics companies valued sales experience in channels such as department stores, duty-free shops, and home shopping. Now, there is growing recognition of specialized talent who understand the unique promotional structures and operational methods of Olive Young, such as Ol-Yong Sale and Ol-Yong Pick.

In fact, the scope of talent acquisition is expanding from operational staff to executive management. Gudai Global, which operates the skincare brand "Beauty of Joseon," recently appointed Koo Changkeun, former CEO of CJ Olive Young, as co-CEO. This marks the company’s first shift to a co-CEO system with an external professional executive after 10 years under the sole leadership of founder and CEO Chun Joohyuk.

CEO Koo previously worked as an analyst at Samsung Securities and served as CEO of CJ Foodville, CJ Olive Young, and CJ ENM. Gudai Global is reported to have highly valued CEO Koo’s experience in brand business operations and platform growth capabilities in making this appointment. In particular, his achievements in integrating health and beauty specialty stores into an online-offline beauty platform during his tenure at CJ Olive Young have drawn attention.

An industry insider commented, "Gudai Global’s appointment of a former CJ Olive Young CEO as co-CEO demonstrates that Olive Young experience is now recognized as an executive leadership qualification, beyond just operational expertise. As Olive Young has established itself as a key growth platform for the cosmetics industry, talent who understand this well are becoming a major driver of corporate competitiveness."

Another industry official added, "The Olive Young channel is more than just a sales outlet; it serves as a platform for gauging consumer response and growing brands. For companies, securing talent with a deep understanding of the channel is directly linked to competitive advantage."

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