SEOUL, June 22 (AJP) - CJ Olive Young, South Korea's largest beauty retail chain, said on Monday the number of foreign tourists who returned to South Korea to shop during its seasonal sale events has risen 11-fold over the past three years.
The company said the figure was based on an analysis of foreign customer data conducted with Global Tax Free, which it described as the country's largest tax refund operator. The analysis compared foreign tourists who visited South Korea during both the March and June sale periods this year with figures from three years earlier.
Olive Young said the number of foreign tourists returning to South Korea at least twice a year to coincide with its sale periods has roughly doubled annually on average since 2023. Last year, more than 6,200 foreign tourists visited South Korea three or more times during the company's sale periods, according to the data.
The company holds its flagship sale event four times a year, in March, June, September and December, with more than 1,500 beauty brands participating each time.
Foreign sales at Olive Young stores outside the Seoul metropolitan area rose 72 percent year-on-year during the June sale period, compared with a 45 percent increase nationwide, the company said. Visits to Olive Young's global online mall rose more than 180 percent year-on-year over the same period, it said.
Olive Young said it plans to continue expanding services for foreign tourists, including the introduction of shopping support devices at stores in areas popular with international visitors.
"The fact that more foreign customers are returning to Korea during our sale periods shows that Olive Young has become more than just a leading K-beauty brand — it has become a cultural content itself," a company representative said in a statement. "We will continue to enhance satisfaction among foreign tourists and expand the points of contact between K-beauty brands and global customers."
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