Capturing the hearts of K-POP fans: Korean cosmetics are popular with foreign tourists – Bloomberg
Korean cosmetics retailers are booming thanks to foreign tourists who want to try on makeup like their favorite K-pop stars and Korean actors.CJ Olive Younghas seen a significant increase in sales and has opened its first store specifically catering to overseas tourists.
The store, which targets foreign tourists, is a two-story building with an area of 1,157 square meters. They have price tags in English, staff who speak English, Japanese and Chinese, and tax-free services. There is also a QR code that links to an English map of the store.
The company revealed that sales at its six stores in Myeong-dong, a shopping district in central Seoul, increased 840% from January to October this year compared to the same period last year.
Olive Young store (Myeong-dong, Seoul)
Photographer: Heejin Kim/Bloomberg
Yoo Han-bit of CJ Olive Young explained that they decided to open a store aimed at tourists because they realized that more than 80% of the 3,000 customers a day were foreigners. He said, “Recently, the number of customers visiting our store from countries other than China, such as South Asia, the United States, and Japan, has been increasing.K-Pop artists’ makeup products, such as lipstick and eye shadow, are attracting strong interest.”
According to CJ Olive Young, compared to Chinese tourists who often buy cosmetics in bulk at duty-free shops and department stores, the company’s customers are looking for low-priced Korean cosmetics brands rather than expensive famous brands.
“Korean cosmetics have a wider variety than Japanese cosmetics, especially lipsticks, which come in more colors than Japan,” said Miyu (23), a Japanese tourist who was in the store. She is a member of the K-Pop girl band “aespa(Espa)” and was inspired by their beauty to try out Korean cosmetics.
Terra Dehaas, 69, a tourist from the Netherlands who was looking at mascara, said Korean skin care products, including whitening lotions, are more diverse than European brands.she is ricenetflixKorean drama distributed by “love crash landingI’m a fan of ‘.
According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization, approximately 1.1 million foreign tourists visited South Korea in September, an increase of 225% from the same month last year. The number of visitors from Japan, the United States, the Middle East, Europe, and South Asia has recovered to nearly 90% of the pre-coronavirus pandemic level, but the number of visitors from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan is still about half of 2019.
Original title:K-Pop Loving Tourists Spur Sales Surge at Korean Cosmetics Brand(excerpt)
