The news: Medicube is expanding its US retail presence after launching last month at Target.

• The Korean beauty brand will make its Walmart debut in June, parent company APR Corp. told Bloomberg.
• It’s also in talks with Costco for a prospective launch in the second half of the year.

Implications for the beauty industry: Medicube’s retail strategy reflects the confluence of several trends.

K-beauty demand shows no signs of softening. The US surpassed China as the top importer of Korean beauty products in 2025, and that momentum continued in Q1, with exports to the US jumping 40.9% YoY to $620 million, per government data. Trends like “glass skin” are fueling demand for brands like Medicube, which helped its parent APR Corporation grew US revenues by 250.8% YoY in Q1.

Big-box retailers see beauty as an essential category for growth. Walmart is making a bigger play for beauty dollars by onboarding buzzy brands like Medicube, as well as through a pilot “Beauty Expert” program that will enable the retailer to deliver a more high-touch experience to shoppers. Likewise, Target will introduce a new “Beauty Studio” experience this fall to replace its former Ulta shop-in-shops. Those spaces will be curated to showcase prestige and new-to-Target brands.

Physical retail remains an important channel for beauty sales. While Medicube’s initial focus on Amazon and TikTok Shop yielded significant growth, the brand’s foray into physical retail underscores the important role that brick-and-mortar stores play in facilitating beauty sales and product discovery. Nearly half of US consumers (47%) prefer to buy health, beauty, and personal care products mostly in store, while 38% buy both in-store and online, according to a report by McKinsey & Company and ICSC.