Olive Young's 3rd US Store: Why Irvine Spectrum Center?

Olive Young, Korea's biggest health and beauty retailer, is reportedly planning its third US store at Irvine Spectrum Center in Orange County, California. After a street-front flagship in Pasadena and a premium mall store in Century City, the choice of Irvine says a lot about how K-beauty is being tested on American shoppers. For resellers and importers, it is also a useful signal of where US demand for Korean beauty is heading.

What was reported

A post by the Korean beauty news account dailybeauty.drop on Instagram says Olive Young picked Irvine Spectrum Center, a large shopping and entertainment destination in Southern California run by the Irvine Company, for its third US location. The post notes that Apple, Sephora and Lululemon are among the tenants, and that the mall is known for curating its brand mix carefully. We have not yet seen an official opening date, so treat the timing as unconfirmed until Olive Young announces it.

Why Irvine? Three reasons from the report

• A shopper base that already knows K-beauty. The post says Asian Americans make up roughly 40% of Irvine's population, including large Chinese and Korean communities that are familiar with Korean skincare and makeup.
• Strong spending power. Median household income is cited at about $137,000, which points to steady, repeat purchasing rather than one-off curiosity buys.
• Room to grow beyond Asian shoppers. Orange County has a large Hispanic population (cited at 34.5% countywide), and shoppers who first met K-beauty through TikTok and creator content could turn viral products into in-store purchases.

From Pasadena to Century City to Irvine

Olive Young opened its first US store in Pasadena, which drew about 6,000 visitors over its opening weekend according to WWD, and followed with a smaller store at Westfield Century City. Irvine would add a third setting: a suburban, family-oriented lifestyle center. Read together, the three locations look like a deliberate test of how the Olive Young model performs with different customers and shopping habits before a wider US rollout. Olive Young has also said it plans more California stores.

What it means for K-beauty wholesale buyers

Physical Olive Young stores in the US help in three ways for anyone who buys Korean beauty wholesale:

• Brand awareness goes up. Shoppers who see a brand on an Olive Young shelf are more likely to search for it online and in local shops.
• Authenticity matters more. As Korean retail arrives in the US, buyers will compare prices and expect genuine product. Buying directly from a Korean supplier with clear barcodes and batch information protects your margin and reputation. See our guide on how to buy Medicube wholesale for resale.
• Trends move faster. Products that sell well in Korea reach US shoppers sooner, so reliable sourcing and short lead times become a real advantage. Our guide to supply rate, MOQ and wholesale terms explains how Korean wholesale pricing works.

Source your own K-beauty stock from Korea

Korean Goods Wholesale supplies K-beauty and K-food directly from Korea to overseas buyers. Browse Ready Stock for products in Korea that ship now, or the wholesale catalog for Pre-Order items. Apply for a wholesale account to see prices and order.

FAQ

Where is Olive Young's third US store? According to a post by dailybeauty.drop, it is Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine, California. An official opening date had not been confirmed when this article was written.

Where are Olive Young's other US stores? Its first US store is in Pasadena, California, and a second is at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles.

Why does Olive Young's US expansion matter for resellers? It raises awareness of Korean brands in the US and signals where demand is growing, which helps resellers choose which brands to stock.

Source

Store location and demographic figures are based on a post by dailybeauty.drop on Instagram, which in turn credits Irvine Spectrum Center. Pasadena opening details: WWD. Figures are as reported by those sources and may change.