Korean Beauty Finds Its South Island Home
HIKOCO — New Zealand’s leading destination for Korean beauty — opens its South Island flagship at The Crossing on Thursday, 23 July. For Christchurch, it marks the arrival of something the city’s beauty lovers have been waiting for.
Since 2016, HIKOCO has been doing something deceptively simple: going directly to the source. While Korean beauty was gaining a devoted following around the world, HIKOCO was already building relationships with the brands shaping it — importing products fresh from Korean shelves, not filtered through international distribution chains or softened for export. The result is a store where the edit reflects what’s actually happening in Seoul, not what happened six months ago.
That directness extends to how HIKOCO operates in-store. Staff train monthly — not on the products in a general sense, but on the science behind them: what particular ingredients do, how formulations interact with different skin types, which products genuinely perform. When a customer asks what will work for their skin, the answer comes from people who have done the research. It’s a level of expertise that makes the difference between a good purchase and the right one.
The range itself spans skincare, makeup, haircare, and wellness — from the viral K-beauty favourites that have quietly become staples in bathrooms across New Zealand, to rising brands that haven’t yet made much noise outside Korea. HIKOCO finds both, which is part of what keeps customers coming back.
The Crossing store is HIKOCO’s South Island flagship, and it arrives as a full expression of the brand — new launches, exclusive products, and the kind of welcoming space where you can explore at your own pace or lean on expert advice when you want it. It’s a fitting addition to The Crossing’s mix of considered, carefully chosen retail, where discovering something new is always part of the experience.
Whether you’re already deep into your skincare routine or simply curious about what all the K-beauty conversation is about, this is a good place to start — and an even better place to continue.
HIKOCO opens at The Crossing on Thursday, 23 July.