According to the retail industry on the 30th, Olive Young recently relocated and expanded its Olive Young Nampo Town store to Nampo-dong, Busan, to a space of approximately 900 pyeong. Nampo Town is the largest of Olive Young’s stores outside the Seoul metropolitan area. A key feature of Nampo Town is that the store is designed to allow customers to deeply experience domestic beauty products all in one place. Nampo Town has significantly expanded its scale from a single story and 200 pyeong to a total of four stories and 900 pyeong, and plans to reposition itself as a representative landmark of the commercial district by moving to a location along the main street in Nampo-dong.
To cater to international customers, Nampo Town has introduced skin analysis and personalized consultation services, and has assigned staff capable of communicating in foreign languages. During peak hours when foreign tourists flock to the store, Nampo Town increases its staffing levels and expands the display quantities of popular products.
Olive Young has also implemented a specialized store design at its Milak The Market branch, which recently opened in Minrak-dong, Suyeong-gu, Busan. The Milak The Market branch is themed around the “Ol Young Ho,” a fictional ship docked at Minrak Port and loaded with domestic beauty products, creating a unique space that feels like a lively seafood market at the harbor. The Millak The Market store also introduced a distinctive food and beverage (F&F) selection. It is the first Olive Young store to install a freezer.
Approximately 40% of Olive Young’s total domestic stores are located in regional areas. In particular, Olive Young has designated and manages commercial districts with high concentrations of foreign customers—such as Busan and Jeju—as “Global Tourism Commercial Districts.” As of last month, there were 151 stores nationwide included in these Global Tourism Commercial Districts. This accounts for about 11% of Olive Young’s total stores (1,367 as of the first half of this year).
Olive Young is expanding its presence in regional areas, including these “Global Tourism Commercial Districts.” This year, Olive Young is investing 123.8 billion won in new store openings in regional areas, renovations of existing stores, and the expansion of logistics infrastructure. Compared to 2023, the scale of investment has more than tripled. Olive Young plans to expand its flagship stores in key regions, including Busan and Jeju, as well as Gangwon, Gyeongsang, and Jeolla provinces.
Musinsa is also expanding its offline stores, focusing on major regional cities. Musinsa Standard will open stores in Jeju and Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, in the second half of this year. Musinsa Standard has been expanding its regional offline stores since 2023. Nine (21%) of its 43 domestic stores are located in regional areas. After opening its first regional store on Dongseong-ro in Daegu in September 2023, Musinsa Standard added three stores in Busan between December of that year and July of last year. Musinsa Standard expanded into Daejeon and Cheongju last year and opened a store in Gwangju this year.
Musinsa Standard is specializing its stores through collaborations with local brands. At the Cheonan-Asan store, which opened on the 18th, the brand partnered with “Halmeoni Hakwaho Doughnut,” a representative local brand from Cheonan. The Gwangju store introduced limited-edition desserts in collaboration with Judy Marie, a popular local dessert brand.
Daiso is also steadily expanding its presence in regional markets. This year, Daiso opened stores in key regional cities such as Gangneung Songjeong, Busan Station, and Daejeon Dunsan. Daiso is pursuing a strategy of scaling up by opening new large-format stores or expanding existing ones within major regional commercial complexes.
The reason Olive Young, Musinsa, and Daiso are strengthening their focus on regional markets is the increasing number of visitors—including foreign tourists—to their regional stores. For example, as of last month, Olive Young’s cumulative foreign sales (purchase amount) at its domestic offline stores surpassed 1 trillion won. This milestone was reached approximately three months earlier than last year.
Notably, foreign sales have increased significantly at regional stores. From January through August of this year, Olive Young’s foreign sales rose 47% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, the growth rate of foreign sales at stores in Gangwon Province reached 105%. Even in regions where domestic tourism had previously dominated—such as Gyeongju (88%), Daejeon (80%), and Jeonju (62%)—the growth rate of foreign sales significantly exceeded the national average.
Musinsa Standard also showed a similar trend to Olive Young. The combined sales of Musinsa Standard’s eight regional stores from January through August this year increased by approximately 44% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, more than 4.5 million of Musinsa Standard’s total 27 million visitors visited regional stores. Regional stores also achieved 125% of their sales targets.
A retail industry official stated, “From a business perspective, as the Seoul metropolitan area—including Seoul itself—becomes increasingly saturated and competition to attract customers intensifies, targeting regional markets helps diversify revenue streams.” The official added, “The retail industry will contribute to revitalizing local commercial districts through specialized stores that highlight regional characteristics, while also providing a differentiated shopping experience.”
