eBay Japan, the operator of the Japanese e-commerce platform Qoo10 Japan,
is seeing significant results by establishing
a ‘growth infrastructure’ designed to elevate fledgling K-beauty brands into global labels.
Moving beyond simple product listings, the platform provides a structured support system from debut to
market settlement, leading to visible outcomes where some brands have seen sales soar by more than 15 times.
On the 14th, eBay Japan held the ‘2026 Qoo10 Japan Mega Debut Awards’ at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul,
where it revealed the first-year achievements and future strategies of its ‘Mega Debut’ project, a support initiative for new beauty brands.
Qoo10 Japan currently serves approximately 25 to 28 million Japanese consumers and holds over a 30% share of the
Japanese online beauty market.
It has maintained double-digit growth for eight consecutive years,
securing high loyalty particularly among women in their 10s to 30s.
At the event, Ja-hyun Koo, CEO of eBay Japan, stated,
“Mega Debut is a process where we have worked together to prove
how new brands can succeed in the Japanese market.” He added,
“Over the past year, about 200 brands successfully debuted in Japan,
with some experiencing a 15-fold increase in sales and more than a 20-fold increase in followers.”
In fact, a total of 200 brands were discovered through the Mega Debut program,
and 188 of them (94%) are K-beauty brands.
These brands recorded cumulative sales of approximately 3.35 billion KRW,
while their review counts grew 7-fold and followers increased 21-fold.
Park Jang-hyeok, Director of the Korea SMEs and
Startups Agency, who attended the event, compared the Mega Debut program to a ‘talent agency.’
He noted, “A singer doesn't succeed just by being good at singing;
it requires a combination of planning, concept, and marketing.
Qoo10 Japan’s Mega Debut is acting as an agency that helps small K-beauty brands make successful debuts.”
He further emphasized, “With the rapid expansion of the e-commerce market and
cross-border transactions becoming a daily reality,
it presents both a crisis and an opportunity for SMEs.
Last year, online exports by domestic SMEs reached a record high of approximately 1.1 billion USD,
with SMEs accounting for more than 75% of that figure.”
eBay Japan pointed to its ‘growth structure’ as the core of these achievements.
Rather than simply exposing products,
the method involves securing reviews before the official debut,
building credibility through influencers and external channels,
and then combining massive on-platform exposure with promotions.
Kim Jae-don, Head of Marketing at eBay Japan, explained,
“It is difficult for new beauty brands to sell based on discounts alone.
We create an environment where consumers can purchase with peace of mind by securing preliminary reviews
and spreading content, followed by all-around exposure.”
He added that one-fourth of the participating Mega Debut brands recorded quarterly sales of 10 million yen or more.
Entering its second year, Mega Debut will expand beyond simple ‘debut support’ into a brand-nurturing stage.
In addition to Mega Debut for rookie brands, eBay Japan is newly introducing: ‘Incubation’ for brands in the growth stage, ‘Mega Collabo’ for top-tier brands, and ‘Mega Oshi,’ a program dedicated to fostering top-tier brands.
The company is also moving to expand offline touchpoints. It plans to operate two pop-up stores in Tokyo in the second half of this year and open a flagship store in the first half of next year. The strategy is to strengthen brand experience by extending the support structure, which was previously online-centric, into the offline space.
CEO Koo said, “Qoo10 Japan is evolving beyond a simple e-commerce platform into a partner that creates global brands. We will continue to create various touchpoints so that brands can be loved in the Japanese market for a long time.”
Meanwhile, 11 brands were selected for their performance over the past year at the awards ceremony, with the grand prize going to the K-skincare brand ‘Charde.’