Olive Young to go public in 2022

Health and beauty store Olive Young said Thursday it was preparing to apply for an initial public offering in 2022.

CEO Koo Chang-gun announced the decision on the company’s in-house communication app “Olive Lounge” on Wednesday where he said work to file for an IPO in 2022 would start next year, with plans to attract pre-IPO investment.

“It is to secure assets to support the company’s future growth. But there won’t be any change to majority shareholder CJ Corporation’s shares and its management rights, the CEO’s statement said according to one official.

CJ owns 55.01 percent of the shares of the health and beauty giant, while members of the conglomerate’s controlling family own 44.07 percent.

With the capital raised, Koo said he would seek other investment opportunities both at home and abroad such as mergers and acquisitions.

Pre-IPO investment refers to private sales of blocks of stock before shares are made available on a public exchange.

Despite reports alleging that between 20 to 30 percent of the shares would be up for sale, the official said such details have yet to be decided as of Thursday.

On the same day, the health and beauty store also announced plans to double its sales of health products in the next three years, naming health care, dental health and hygiene products as examples of areas it would focus on.

According to its internal data, health product sales grew by 40 percent between January and August compared to the same time last year, the company said.

Since opening its first branch in Gangnam, Olive Young has become South Korea’s largest health and beauty retailer, boasting over 1,200 branches and a market share of over 50 percent during the first half of this year.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)