HEAD OF THE DAY
🇰🇷 Lee Sun-Jung
💄 The trendsetter who built a K-beauty empire
While the CJ Group founded retailer Olive Young back in 1999, CEO Lee Sun-jung is the mastermind behind today's beauty empire. She took the reins in late 2022 and basically said "Hold my sheet mask" before transforming a popular drugstore chain into the undisputed K-Beauty headquarters. Instead of just slinging products like a regular retailer, she turned the whole operation into a launching pad for up-and-coming brands – making it the place where beauty trends go to become famous.
💡 Did you know? The chain is so everywhere in Korea that there's actually a saying: "You can't walk down a street without bumping into an Olive Young store."
👉 Lesson learned: Don't just be a middleman – be the kingmaker! When you become the platform that discovers and validates new trends, you can end up more powerful than the brands you're selling.
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