K-beauty品牌加速进入Target、Walmart、Sephora等美国线下零售渠道

K-beauty is rapidly expanding into the physical stores of major U.S. retailers. Korean cosmetics brands that built recognition in the U.S. market through online channels such as Amazon are now winning shelf space at leading local retailers including Target, Walmart, Ulta Beauty and Sephora.
U.S. retail giant Target will unveil a new dedicated beauty space called Target Beauty Studio at more than 600 stores in the United States on the 10th of next month, according to the beauty industry on the 29th. The space will carry more than 1,600 products from 90 beauty brands, with more than two-thirds of the participating brands entering Target for the first time.
Notably, K-beauty accounts for a substantial share of those brands. The lineup includes Amuse of Shinsegae International, Rom&nd of iFamily SC, as well as Aromatica, Equalberry and Ingredient Editor — brands relatively well known in Korea. Unlike conventional cosmetics aisles at big-box stores, Target plans to offer an experience closer to a specialty beauty retailer by assigning dedicated beauty advisors and allowing shoppers to test some products directly.
"Of the 90 new brands entering Target Beauty Studio, 12 are Korean, the highest share of any single country after the United States," said Cho Kyung-jin, an analyst at IBK Investment & Securities. "This is a case of K-beauty entering the regular shelves of the largest offline retail channel in the United States, with color cosmetics and skincare as the main categories." Cho added that it "suggests channel diversification is under way for existing indie brands that had focused on online, Sephora and Ulta." Park Hyun-jin, a senior analyst at Shinhan Securities, said the development "can be read as an industry signal that major U.S. retailers now recognize Korean indie beauty as an independent growth category." Park said it represents a process in which K-beauty's growth axis in the United States is expanding from online to offline, and could support upward revisions to second-half earnings expectations this year.
K-beauty is also widening its footprint across other offline channels. Medicube, owned by APR, entered more than 1,500 Target stores in the United States in April this year and about 3,000 Walmart stores in June. Tonymoly has also been reaching local customers through 600 Walmart stores in the United States since May. It sells 15 skincare items, including the Wonder Ceramide Mochi toner, which is popular both at home and abroad. The Face Shop, owned by LG H&H, entered about 1,600 Walmart stores in the United States last month and sells a total of five products, including the Migamsu Bright cleanser.
Sephora, a leading beauty retailer in the United States, is also expanding offline sales of K-beauty. In partnership with CJ Olive Young, Sephora introduced Olive Young K-Beauty Edit displays at about 580 of its U.S. stores on the 20th of this month. Under the partnership, K-beauty brands curated by Olive Young are introduced to local consumers through Sephora. An Olive Young K-Beauty Edit pop-up truck set up in New York's Times Square has drawn long lines, signaling a strong response.
The industry views these moves as a sign that K-beauty's overseas distribution strategy is shifting to a new stage. Korean beauty brands previously gained popularity on online platforms such as Amazon and TikTok Shop before entering offline retail networks individually. More recently, large U.S. retailers have increasingly recognized K-beauty as an independent beauty category and brought in multiple brands at once.
Target's designation of K-beauty as a core product group in its new dedicated beauty space, and Sephora's decision to entrust product selection to Olive Young, a Korean retailer, are seen as evidence of K-beauty's changed standing. The K-beauty boom that began online is moving quickly to offline shelves, where U.S. consumers can test and buy products in person.
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