Watsons in Korea has a new name: Lalavla

Watsons personal and beauty care stores across Korea will go through a makeover under a new name “Lalavla,” its operator GS Retail announced on Tuesday in hopes to take on the dominant player Olive Young in the burgeoning street beauty market through localized appeal.

GS Retail introduced Watsons, the biggest multi-beauty and personal care store brand in Asia, in a 50:50 joint venture with Hong Kong-based A.S. Watson Group in 2005. Last year it bought the remaining 50 percent stake from the retailer’s holding company Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. for 11.9 billion won ($10.8 million) to make Watsons Korea its fully-owned entity. It has since been working on a rebranding initiative.

The new name – a combination of lalala and blah blah to mean happy chattering – aims to better appeal to young female customers, said a GS Retail official. The shops will be refurbished with the new logo by the end of March.

There are currently 188 Watsons stores across Korea. GS Retail plans to bolster the number to catch up with CJ Group’s Olive Young, the country’s first and largest health and beauty retailer with 950 shops. Lotte Group runs 96 LOHBS stores and Shinsegae 10 Boots stores.

Shares of GS Retail closed Tuesday down 1.31 percent at 37,800 won.