On the 1st (local time), at Hudson Yards Mall, a complex shopping mall in Manhattan, New York, U.S., there is a brand drawing attention for its sophisticated design and fragrance at the "Shinsegae Hyperground New York Pop-up Store," which gathers K-beauty brands. It is "Keyth," a perfume and lifestyle brand that has expanded its distribution network to Europe and the Middle East within two and a half years of launch. Choi Kyung-a, CEO of Keyth, whom we met on site, cited the New York pop-up as an opportunity to confirm the potential for entering the U.S. market.
"K-beauty has already been recognized for its high competitiveness in the global market, centered on skincare. Now, interest is expanding beyond makeup into the fragrance and lifestyle sectors. Keyth was planned from the start with the global market as its target. We wanted to directly demonstrate the competitiveness of Korea's 'fragrance' in New York, the center of beauty and fashion."
Keyth, led by Choi (CEO), is gaining attention for its differentiated storytelling and design. Inspired by the twelve zodiac signs, the perfume series assigns a story to each product, with considerable effort put into package design as well. The representative product of this year is "Cowboy," created to match the Year of the Horse with wildflower scents. The hand cream container, produced in a flat shape breaking away from the traditional convex form, won the "2025 Red Dot Design Award." It was explained that consideration was given not only to the moment of using the product but also to the experience of consumers owning and displaying it.
Following its entry into 450 stores of the major UK retail channel "Boots" in July, Keyth is expanding its sales channels to France's "Galerie Lafayette," the Netherlands' "De Bijenkorf," Australia's "Davies Jones," and Dubai's "H&M Beauty." Global expansion has accelerated since a pop-up at Paris's Printemps department store in France last July, held together with Shinsegae Hyperground. Currently, it is also on the verge of entering the online fashion platform "Zalando" and Poland's H&B chain "Hebe." However, according to Choi (CEO), the New York pop-up holds a different significance.
"The most difficult part of overseas expansion is not simply opening stores, but how to effectively convey the brand to local customers. Shinsegae Hyperground provided support with space staging and operational know-how optimized for the special market of New York. Most importantly, it laid the groundwork for several excellent K-brands to unite as a powerful content force to form local customer touchpoints and pioneer sales channels, which is difficult for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to handle alone. This is significant in that sense. It is like obtaining an optimal testbed where we can vividly check local consumer reactions."
The goal of this New York pop-up is to increase brand awareness and verify the local market, rather than short-term sales. The plan is to confirm which fragrances, designs, and products gain reaction in New York, where various consumers, buyers, creators, and trendsetters gather, and to find opportunities to connect to formal distribution in the U.S. market.
Choi (CEO) said, "We will analyze consumer reactions and sales data obtained on site to find competitive products and content, and we want to continue collaborating with Shinsegae Hyperground in other global cities as well," adding, "Our goal is not just to introduce Korean brands overseas, but to create a sustainable collaboration model that allows them to actually grow and settle locally."
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