원본보기 아이콘

원본보기 아이콘

Upon reaching the end of the third-floor hallway at the Olive Young N Seongsu store in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, a secretive staircase appeared on the left. Climbing up one more floor, a lounge with a harmonious blend of vibrant colors unfolded. The first thing that caught the eye was dozens of plant pots brimming with vitality, reminiscent of a botanical garden. At the entrance, a staff member checked membership status to assist with entry. Next to the entrance, the bar serving drinks and desserts closely resembled those found in hotel caf?s or department store VIP lounges.

This space is reserved for Olive Young VIP customers. If you need a break while shopping in the store, you can relax comfortably in the lounge on the fourth floor. Gold members (who spend over 1 million won in six months) and Black members (who spend between 700,000 and 1 million won in six months) can enjoy complimentary drinks and snacks. Membership tiers are adjusted monthly, and the lounge can be used once per month.

The Olive Young N Seongsu store, with a total area of 1,400 pyeong, brings together domestic indie beauty brands and offers products like albums and stationery that appeal to consumers in their 20s and 30s, all in one space. Beauty enthusiasts often spend over two hours inside, thanks to the wide variety of products available.

The lounge exudes the atmosphere of a department store VIP lounge. Department store VIP lounges, which require spending hundreds of millions of won to access, are separated from the main shopping area, allowing for comfortable relaxation and a differentiated experience from other customers. The Olive Young VIP lounge incorporates all of these elements.

The lounge features a spacious open kitchen and about 16 tables and sofas. The sofas are large and plush enough to lie down on, and the generous spacing between tables ensures privacy and comfort. The two-hour usage time is also ample.

The desserts, which are visually satisfying, were the most eye-catching. Olive Young infused its beauty brand identity into the dessert menu. The "Foundation Cake" is served on a palette-shaped plate with three different colored creams, and an Earl Grey pound cake shaped like a rectangular sponge (puff) is placed on top, mimicking the act of applying foundation with a puff.

The "Mango Tart" is designed in the shape of a basket to give customers the feeling of going on a picnic in the lounge. The tiramisu cake incorporates seasonal summer fruits like peach and plum. While department store lounges differentiate themselves with "premium" snacks, Olive Young offers a unique dessert experience that cannot be found elsewhere.

원본보기 아이콘

원본보기 아이콘

This lounge sees an average of about 120 visitors per day on weekdays and 140 on weekends. After lunchtime, couples and groups of friends visit the lounge together. On weekdays, the average wait time in the late afternoon is 40 minutes to 1 hour, while on weekends, the wait can be as long as 2 to 4 hours due to the influx of visitors, according to Olive Young. A visitor in her 30s, Ms. Park, said, "This is my first visit, and it feels like a trendy Seongsu-dong caf?-it's cozy and satisfying. The two-hour usage time is generous, and since I can bring a friend, I plan to come back with another friend who has VIP status."

Olive Young also operates a VIP lounge at its Gangnam branch. The Gangnam lounge is smaller than the N Seongsu lounge, offering only simple snacks and drinks. Olive Young introduced VIP lounges in its offline stores to create more touchpoints with customers. While more customers now interact with Olive Young online, offline stores provide a direct and quick way to understand customers' preferences and needs. This is also why Olive Young is increasing experiential content in its offline stores.

At the N Seongsu store, Olive Young offers a "Makeup Studio," "Skin, Scalp, and Personal Color Consulting Services," "Beauty Device Experiences," "Makeup Experiences," and "Home Care Classes." These are part of Olive Young's unique offline customer acquisition strategy.

Foreigners experiencing makeup at the N Seongsu store

Word of mouth overseas has spread, with an average daily visitor count reaching 8,000 to 10,000.

The store's popular content is so appealing that foreign customers endure long waits.

With such services gaining word-of-mouth overseas, Olive Young's offline stores now attract an average of 8,000 to 10,000 visitors per day. An Olive Young representative said, "It's impossible to fully understand what products customers want or what they're curious about solely online. We will continue to introduce differentiated offline strategies so that the brand and customers can connect within the Olive Young space." Olive Young is also considering establishing VIP lounges outside the Seoul metropolitan area.