Musinsa has launched its first standalone beauty store, "Musinsa Beauty Hongdae," positioning pharmacy beauty and indie brand discovery as key competitive strategies. The store integrates a pharmacy where cosmetics and general over-the-counter medicines can be viewed together, while prominently featuring indie brands that lack sufficient offline touchpoints, aiming to transform into "a space for discovering new beauty brands."
The Musinsa Beauty Hongdae store, unveiled on the 10th, displays a soft pink exterior in an area densely packed with beauty and fashion brands near Hongdae Station in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Inside the three-story, 1,262㎡ (approximately 400 pyeong) space, the most striking feature was the pharmacy on the basement level. Pharmacists in white coats moved between shelves preparing to assist customers. Among cosmetics commonly found in curated shops, ointments like Retin-A and Melatonin Cream stood out.
This is "Beauty Onnuri Pharmacy," a collaboration between Musinsa and Onnuri Pharmacy. While maintaining its core function as a traditional pharmacy where resident pharmacists dispense prescriptions, approximately 90% of the inventory consists of beauty products, complemented by consultation services.
Kim Yeon-jin, Head of Musinsa Beauty's Offline Team, stated, "Consumers increasingly research product ingredients and efficacy—such as Centella Asiatica or PDRN—before purchasing, driving the rise of pharmacy beauty." She added, "Even for common skin concerns like acne, causes vary by individual; thus, we will guide customers to suitable products through pharmacist consultations." A pharmacist working on-site explained, "When consumers seek cosmetics for issues like pigmentation, acne scars, or hair loss, we can recommend pharmaceuticals that synergize with those products to address their specific skin concerns."
Musinsa's emphasis on pharmacy beauty also leveraged Hongdae's unique market characteristics. The area hosts seven Olive Young stores and one pop-up zone. As a late entrant, Musinsa needed to create distinct reasons for visits beyond existing beauty curated shops, according to the company.
Musinsa found its answer in "discovery." The store prominently features pharmacy beauty exclusive to Musinsa alongside small-to-mid-sized and emerging brands. For months, Musinsa analyzed each brand's identity and competitiveness before selection. Among approximately 600 brands, indie brands account for roughly 70%. A representative example is "Purito Seoul," known in North America and Europe but rarely seen offline domestically.
Ascending to the second floor via stairs, visitors first encounter a screen over 1 meter tall showcasing brand identities and key products. The first-floor "Brand Highlighting Zone" curates and introduces brands difficult to access offline.
Musinsa believes these brands can leverage offline consumer interactions as growth catalysts. This potential was validated during last month's "Beauty Festa" in Seongsu, where 20 brands with annual sales under 12 billion won participated. Their transaction volume during the event surged by 790% compared to the same period the previous year.
Team Leader Kim stated, "We aim for Musinsa Beauty to become a platform nurturing indie brands, while domestic and international consumers discover new facets of K-beauty here. If we can strengthen the perception that 'when you want to buy cosmetics, go to Musinsa Beauty,' expansion into local commercial districts will become feasible."
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