Born To Stand Out is accelerating its push into overseas fragrance markets by opening its first directly operated flagship stores in Europe, including Paris. The company also plans to add flagship stores at home to widen its contact with domestic consumers as well as foreign tourists visiting Korea.
Lim Ho-jun, chief executive of Born To Stand Out, said construction is under way on the Paris flagship store and that it will open soon, speaking at a media tour on the 20th for the opening of the Bukchon flagship store in Seoul's Jongno District. Contracts for London and Milan have already been signed, the CEO said.
Born To Stand Out currently operates more than 900 stores in 82 countries. Most are located inside upscale department stores and beauty retailers, including Harrods and Selfridges in Britain, Galeries Lafayette in France and Sephora in the United States. Starting late this year, however, the head office will directly operate flagship stores in three European countries, including France.
Born To Stand Out flagship stores also exist in the Philippines and Thailand, but those outlets are run by local distributors rather than by the company itself. Korea has been the only market with a flagship store operated by the head office. "Because Born To Stand Out is a luxury fragrance, it is mainly carried by high-end department stores rather than low-price retailers such as Walmart or Target," the CEO said.
Founded in 2022, Born To Stand Out has grown sharply. Revenue, just 300 million won in its first year, jumped to 12 billion won in 2023, 28 billion won in 2024 and 61 billion won last year. The company expects annual revenue to reach 120 billion won ($84 million) this year, more than double the previous year. "About 95% of last year's revenue came from overseas," the CEO said, adding that foreigners also account for a high share of about 70% of sales in Korea.
Born To Stand Out also unveiled the Bukchon flagship store, its fourth in Korea after Hannam, Samcheong and Seongsu. The space preserves the structure of a hanok, including rafters, columns, window frames and a courtyard, while combining the brand's signature red, cold stainless steel and irregular sculptural pieces with old objects the company collected itself, such as Joseon-era antique furniture and traditional bedding chests. Through folding screens finished with loofah dyeing, egg-shaped sculptural furniture and mosaic tiles made from roof tiles, traditional forms and contemporary objects form a sharp contrast, completing a space where different eras coexist, the company said.
The Bukchon flagship also houses CAFÉ RED ACCORD, the first cafe brand launched by Born To Stand Out. It proposes a new coffee experience in which the aroma, flavor and lingering finish of coffee are designed the way a perfumer composes a fragrance, and it is built as a bar-style drip station connected to the hanok courtyard.
On the decision to open in Bukchon, the CEO said: "The furniture and architecture of Joseon from hundreds of years ago are strikingly bold and beautiful in themselves, so I thought that adding today's materials and sensibilities to them could create an entirely new kind of beauty. Bukchon is not a space that reproduces the past as it was, but a space that looks again at the beauty of the past through today's eyes."