Silicon2 (257720.KQ) is rapidly expanding its store network by opening K-beauty multi-brand shops under the MOIDA banner across the United States through the end of the year. The company, which has grown mainly through online sales and business-to-business transactions, is now opening its own stores in major U.S. shopping malls and outlets to widen direct contact with consumers. CJ Olive Young is also expanding its offline business in the United States, setting the stage for sharper competition in the local K-beauty distribution market.
Silicon2 opened three new MOIDA stores in the United States last month and is considering adding eight more by year-end, according to beauty industry sources on the 14th. One of those is planned for this month, three for November and two for December. Schedules for the remaining two are still being arranged.
MOIDA opened its first U.S. store at Ontario Mills in California in June 2024, and as recently as June this year it operated only three stores in the country, including locations in Manhattan and Orange County, California. With the latest push, the chain is set to more than double the number of stores it opened over the past two years or so in just three to four months.
The retailer is also extending a network once concentrated in areas with large Korean-American populations, such as California and New York, into the southeastern and western United States. All four stores opening between last month and this month are in Florida, in the southeast. Through the end of the year, openings will be concentrated in western cities including San Francisco and San Diego.
Notably, many of the stores are located in properties run by Simon Property Group, the largest shopping mall operator in the United States. Including the existing Ontario Mills and The Outlets at Orange locations, as well as planned stores at The Florida, Sawgrass Mills, Las Americas Premium Outlets, Northshore Mall and Potomac Mills, a total of seven stores sit in Simon properties. Such sites make it easier to tap existing foot traffic than standalone stores and allow entry into key commercial districts in each region, an advantage for scaling up quickly.
The offline expansion matters because it extends Silicon2 beyond its B2B core into selling directly to consumers. Analysts say the MOIDA stores let the company observe local shopping preferences and product-by-product responses firsthand, which can feed into future brand sourcing and product lineups. Its existing sourcing capabilities and overseas distribution network are also cited as strengths that allow it to add stores quickly.
Silicon2's aggressive expansion is expected to intensify competition among K-beauty specialist retailers in the U.S. market. Olive Young opened its first U.S. store in Pasadena, California, in May this year, followed by a second at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles in June. It plans to secure at least five stores in California by the first half of next year. While MOIDA has chosen a multi-store strategy of quickly adding locations in large shopping malls, Olive Young is targeting the U.S. market with large directly operated stores built around hands-on services. The roughly 803-square-meter Pasadena store offers free skin diagnostics and one-on-one consultations, and the company is linking a U.S.-only online mall with its logistics network to build a distribution system spanning online and offline channels.
"Silicon2 is broadening from its existing B2B business into direct sales to consumers, while Olive Young is strengthening cooperation with local retailers such as Sephora on top of its existing business-to-consumer operations," an industry official said. "Since both companies are building distribution networks covering wholesale and retail, competition in the U.S. K-beauty market looks set to grow fiercer."