Olive Young Central Myeongdong Town in Seoul's Jung District bustles with visitors during the Olive Young Sale earlier this month. Courtesy of CJ Olive Young

Foreign nationals' repeat visits to CJ Olive Young stores have surged 11-fold compared to three years ago, coinciding with the brand’s quarterly discount events, according to the beauty retailer Monday.

Repeat visits by overseas shoppers to CJ Olive Young stores have been increasing annually in recent years, more than doubling each year since 2023. The company said that last year alone, 6,200 foreigners who traveled to Korea shopped at Olive Young three or more times during its discount events.

Part of the reason for the repeat visits is that the Korea Customs Service refunds domestic taxes, including value-added tax, to foreign shoppers if they have a customs verification of export goods at airports or ports and leave the country within three months. The policy prompts foreign visitors to leave the country and, driven by interests in K-beauty, come back for more shopping.

Olive Young Sale, held every March, June, September and December, involves more than 1,500 domestic beauty brands for discount, all of which represent Korea’s latest products and trends. CJ Olive Young said the event “offers a glimpse into K-beauty's latest seasonal trend.”

Repeat visits by foreign customers to CJ Olive Young stores have expanded beyond the Seoul metropolitan area, including in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. During this month’s Olive Young Sale, stores outside the capital region recorded a 72 percent increase in sales from foreign visitors, outpacing the nationwide average gain of 45 percent across all stores.

The discount event has been fueling Olive Young’s online sales, as well as on its global e-commerce platform Olive Young Global Mall. Visitors to the platform this month jumped more than 180 percent from the previous year.

“The growing number of foreign tourists revisiting Korea during the Olive Young Sale periods shows the brand has become beyond a leading K-beauty brand for the country’s unique cultural content,” an Olive Young official said.

Source: Korea Times News