Hot on the heals of the Spanish retail chain of clothes, ZARA, which opened up in Korea last year , now H&M, the Swedish brand which has been providing the rest of the world with affordable throwaway fashion for decades opened in Seoul. This news should be almost as big as the iphone news to the female population in Korea. There has been a rather late influx of global fashion brands, akin to the surge in the number of has-been pop-stars and 물빠진 hollywood types visiting Korea. These brands (GAP etc.) have been in operating successfully in Japan for a while, and it was feeling like Korea was being bypassed as they opened shop in China.
GAP has tried but has failed due to their higher-pricing policy in Korea, amongst other things. ZARA has been successful so far. I foresee the European brands will fare better than American ones, as the 아기자기한 nature will appeal to them, as long as they do not repeat the mistake of overpricing it compared to the rest of the world.
S.Korea has had a long history of designer flagships compared to these “high-street” brands. The upper-class 사모님s and 아가씨s were ready to fork out any ridiculous amount of dosh for their designer outfits and bags.
For those plebian Korean unni’s who have been abroad, this gaping hole has long been a source of thirst. Fine, the globalization of such brands in the West can be seen as conformist, sterilized and bland to some degree, but we still want the choice of such standardized dirt-cheap & cheerful clothes to go with our overpriced starbucks lattes. The price of these clothes will be lower than, or comparable to those countless dingy shops one finds in subway malls, especially when the season sale is on.
At the moment the Korean domestic market is dominated by internet shopping malls and the private owned stalls run by a bunch of dynamic young women who “copy” the designs of other brands, and produce it themselves, arriving, at the hodge-podge mix of our own Korean fashion. At least, it’s distinguishable from the Japanese street fashion.
It will be interesting to see how the small shops and the internet malls survive if a complete domination by these brands takes place. Existing brands such as HK-based Giordano were not up to scratch to really force a competition on them. I predict it will force the private shops to become more original and move up-market, confining them to street-fashion areas only. (c.f. Harajuku and 이대입구). Maybe the more creative and the best of them will get together and be funded to kick-start something coherent under one brand, as I note some recent movement in this by Samsung’s second daughter, 이서현 at Cheil Mojik. – albeit in a rather shoddy manner for a high-end fashion put-together. The president might say “Why doesn’t Korea have its own Uniqlo ? I hereby decree we develop our own global fashion brand !” like this.
Now we await for the fellow Swedish IKEA to arrive, then with our Billy bookcases, we can finally be part of the true civilized race of global consumer whores.
*물빠진(adj) = literally, water-drained. washed-up. Like fruits, popular, young people are full of water (물오른, 물찬). Used to describe no-longer successful or young and good-looking people.
*아기자기(adj) = 아기자기 하다, delicate-detailed and cute.
*사모님(n) = literally,a teacher’s wife. However, it’s used to refer with respect to an (older) woman, usually whose husband has an important job or loadsa money who can afford to ferry them around in a chauffeured 체어맨. However, this breed of women have been derided in comedy. The word replaces “Madam” (because in Korean, 마담 has the connotation of being an older bar hostess).
In the Korean Christian community most older married women are referred to as “사모님”.
{ 77 comments… read them below or add one }
I walked past the place on Monday, and saw a line-up. I thought it was a little silly for people to line up to get into the shop, as if it were some cool nightclub or something. But, whatever. To each his/her own.
By the way, as a long-time reader, I think it’ll be refreshing to read some Marmot Hole articles from the female perspective.
Welcome Yuna and a very nice posting.
H&M is pure shit, the Ikea of clothing, abominable quality. Apparently the same scenes could be witnessed here in Milan when they opened in 2002: people queuing up just to get in.
Clearly worldwide IQ data are manipulated, the real average must be around 61.
IKEA is the devil
I believe it was *I* who first suggested that yuna becoming a poster was a good idea. I demand a hat-tip, from somebody! Anybody!
thanks robertneff & sethgecko. I’m going to work on cutting it down (the length of the post), and also writing in shorter, coherent sentences.
gangpeh, I agree that the quality is not great, but it’s for school girls usually to wear for one season only. Same as the internet mall clothes. That queue was apparently because they had limited edition Sonia Rykiel knitwear which sold out in 20 minutes flat. (This frequently happens in Europe whenever the high street brands do a limited edition in collaboration with a designer)
Utter garbage. Low quality material, poorly made, soon-to-fall-apart clothing. It’ll be a hit! Moths to a flame. I wonder how much H&M is gouging the Korean consumer.
LOL Yuna thanks for taking it lightly, i forgot to add a smiley at the end which i should always do when the message could be interpreted as harsh. My stepson, when he went through his mmh emo phase used to buy , much to my frustration, shit loads of H&M and L.O.G.G. clothes, cos they had tons of vaguely goth looking stuff.
That junk invariably fell apart at the third washing.
Now that i think about it if i’m not wrong it was H&M who pionereed the concept of having big designers producing limited amount of cheap collections for mass brands. Very clever idea i have to say.
Speaking of Sonia Rykiel, i had a contact with the export manager of the brand. Last fall she offered me to sell some stuff in Korea. The buyer at the import company in Seoul yelled at me i wanted to rip him off pitching soome obscure, low-life brand in the Korean market. If i think about it i still wanna cry. Ajoshi can be frustrating indeed.
Wow, I think I could eat off that speckless facade, although here in old New York they’ve been getting some bad press lately.
My personal theory:
Yuna is Robert exploring his feminine side, perhaps (hopefully) with real input from his own (very pretty) feminine side.
My own pretty feminine side liked H&M a lot in London and New York a decade ago when we were (well, she was) young and hip. H&M rocks.
Gangpehwhateverthefuckyournameis: Dude, take a vacation.
Gangpeh, Sonia Rykiel is known, and well-liked at least amongst my friends. Bloody Ajossis.
That’s right, Liz. There is always a feeling of 한 박자 늦은 (one beat/step too late) international release in Korea, which is not great for fashion or tech products. They should send those coats to N.Korea, in exchange for those No-Ko jeans … bloooody swedes.
Weiku: i don’t do shit all day, i need to kill time
GAP failed because their buyers were morons that could not keep up with other chains that have the market taste down too well. If the local buyers do not know what they are doing, then . . .
Welcome Yuna.
P.S. Uniglo is dreadful as well. Korean designers can do *much* better. Maybe there should be a Korean “Uniglo”.
건이옵바, 고맙. I am saving the NSFW pics for when the going gets tough.
RElgin, yeah, Uniqlo is pretty bad, yet seems surprisingly successful in Korea than I’d imagined possible – I think it beat GAP in the pricing.
A problem that some foreign brands faced in the past (and still now?) is over saturation, mainly from counterfeiters. Before the GAP opened shops in Korea its brand was already widely available. Nothing cooler than everyone wearing a GAP cap, eh? Same thing happened to Von Dutch. Over-priced shop in Hongdae competing against 5000 won knock offs.
Zara and H&M clothing aren’t so conspicuously branded. Perhaps that’ll help.
There’s truth in that, Seouldout. However, it would have been stronger placed in the competition against the counterfeiters if the GAP cap actually cost 5000 won in the GAP stores. No one would buy a counterfeit if they could get the real thing for the same price.
Also, GAP is much more than the logo alone. It has well-designed clothes. They should have just made the whole selection widely available at the same affordable price as everywhere else in the world, leaving little margin for the would-be counterfeiters.
From the evidence of countless scores of Korean ajummas scouring the GAP store sales rack and outlets in US/Europe, someone must have REALLY botched it up somewhere, like R.Elgin says, for it to fail.
“I’m going to work on cutting it down (the length of the post), and also writing in shorter, coherent sentences.”
It’s a good post–shorter and more coherent than my usual drivel….I hope you will not change your style.
^_^;
Yuna: i think it is a recurring trick of American brands in foreign markets, trying to re-position themselves as luxury names. I always laughed at how expensive i.e. Levi’s or Banana Reoublic (let alone GAP Kids in the UK) were across Europe.
Just curious: how’s Mango doing in Korea ?
Mango, not bad, last time I checked. But as a trend across the globe, I don’t think it ever actually took off being in ZARA’s shadow as that “other Spanish brand”. That’s another thing. Selling their stuff via department stores never work well for these brands which rely on their own collection and atmosphere(this is the same abroad I noticed). Koreans are still department store-based than mall-based in their shopping habits. This might change in the future.
Too… much… fashion talk. Not use… to… it on TMH.
[[System overload]]…
I personally like H&M for good looking and inexpensive clothes, but the styles seem to be getting more bland and the new H&M appears to be Topshop and Topman — topshop.com & topman.com — which is a British, uh, outfit, in fact I believe it’s owned by Kate Moss. They only have one in the US so far, in Manhattan, but there are stores all over Asia so if you’re hopping around you might be able to check out their duds. Ah, fashion talk…
Robin Hedge, uh-uh. Kate Moss did a few pieces for them in a collection, that’s all – which shows how much respect she commands (because she is a model after all). In fact the image of Topshop was flagging rather badly at one point so bringing (slightly more expensive) items associated with such an icon as her has really re-vamped their image, and they were doing very well in Europe, again, last time I checked.
speaking of Asian fashion, and the lack of a recognisable Korean brand, which is a despicable thing considering the current greatness of Hallyu (ok ok i’ll curb my enthusiasm) well i wonder if the time is right for a Korean Shanghai Tang
Yuna’s more estrogen infused postings will be the yin to repell the yang of Internet snark…
I don’t think I’ve ever owned a piece by Shanghai Tang. Sorry to say, but it seems overpriced and plays solely and too heavily on the Chinesey feel, especially their dresses. Going to their shops just reminds me of going to a Chinese restaurant.
Of course, we Koreans would not be Koreans unless we were as cuckoo crazy in fashion as well as everything else – I’m still waiting for the day when the Korean public calls “Emperor’s new clothes!” on 김복남 aka Andre Kim.
Of course, it might not happen. At least, I admire him in his absolute and unbending delusion.
OK! NO MORE fashion talk. From next time, I go back to war and boobies.
and thinking i joined the TMH cos i thought it was a community of Hallyu fans
Definitely the Korean fashion scene can do better than this creepy Jean Paul Gaultier wannabe (and the original is creepy enough)
Thanks for clearing that up Yuna. Btw I don’t mind the fashion talk.
gangpeh,
It’s not because Korean’s can’t do it. This U.S. company owned by Koreans has:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_21
Fashion is not one of the government mandated industries tasked for domination by one of the Chaebols… I guess.
Tangentially related: I had to sit down with my mom and my fiancee for hours looking at pictures of hanbok on the Internet for the wedding. And I gotta say there are some totally sweet hanbok designs and colors out there.
I think i could write a book with the countless comical/tragic anectodes with my ajoshi acquaintance, who one day woke up and after an honest multidecade long career trading commodities to cater to the heavy industries decided he was going to become a big name in fashion distribution.
What surprises me is that a female Korean designer superstar didn’t emerge yet, considering how stylish, beautiful, sophisticated (ok ok i know i’m partial) Korean women are. Also it could be a good way to bypass the fairly thick corporate glass ceiling typical of chaebol dominated sectors.
Luxury seems to be the last major economic sectors where Koreans are mostly consumers and not major producers/exporters…weird
Welcome to the VIP club of contributing bloggers, Little Sista! I look forward to reading your posts regularly.
Great post Yuna (not that I’m a fashion-aficionado).
I really liked your translations at the bottom of the page – always good to know a few more Korean words. My g/f, a gyopo, always used to say that Koreans liked a sort of throw-back, prissy, 50s-style fashion, and I guess 아기자기 하다 is the word that best describes it.
I think the style suits Korean girls really well, but I don’t think it works quite as well for men! (You wouldn’t catch me dead in a pink polo shirt and cotton vest for example. But each to their own!)
Anyway, good post, look forward to some more.
AAK,
Shameless fiancee plug. You’ll resort to any excuse! Hyundai commericals and now H&M postings…
Yuna, in supporting H&M’s entry into this market, you mention the average eonni, yearning for cheap standardized clothing from abroad, but then you also say that H&M’s essentially faddish (or poorly constructed? – ‘for one season only’) clothing for schoolgirls. So what are they selling, and who are they selling to? Are they going for both? Considering the age differential of those two groups, that’s a bit risky in the same shop, isn’t it?
It’s not often that I would want to second a post by Gangpehmoderniste (#33) but this time he is right on. Koreans can and often do show great elegance and taste in art, music, crafts… and many Hallyu dramas are as good as the genre ever gets in not only acting but in production values as well. So where is the Korean homegrown clothing design cutting edge? I love hanbok, especially the more colorful modern interpretations, but it is not something for everyday wear. Korean designers, arise!
Yuna, I’m glad you are here and contributing something new and hopefully less testosterone-laden to the Marmot’s Hole.
I hate going into H & M because the music here is always crappy and too loud. Zara, on the other hand, is a treat for the eyes.
Gap is doing poorly because it’s incredibly bland. Ajummas buy it in the states because its blandness appeals to their church going instincts of not sticking out but not looking poor. It’s not too popular in Europe but in many cities, it’s actually one of the cheapest store outlets there that has a known name and doesn’t have a discount fare reputation.
H&M essentially does what those girls you mentioned did; just copies whatever is seen as fashionable and slaps on their label. Their designers pretty much spend the day flipping through news pictures and magazines and trend polling. Despite this, I’m glad they’re entering the Korean market as it will offer a nice and cheap alternative to current fashion without breaking the bank (and less reason for young girls wanting to earn big bucks real quick).
“and the lack of a recognisable Korean brand,”
“tasked for domination by one of the Chaebols… I guess.”
Maybe not tasked by Govt, but Samsung(Cheil) are out there trying, and I think their Beanpole brand is a fairly recognisable at least in Korea. Certainly Gwyneth recognises their cheques…..
That’s cold. Hehehehe
Beanpole has fairly good quality clothing but at extraordinary prices and is very juvenile in taste (think perpetual prep-school style with a boring color palette).
I just bought a half-lenght trench coat from a “Hazzy’s” because the quality (finished inside seams, lining and detailing) were at the level of quality I would get from a tailor and the price was actually a little cheaper than one (358,000). The only real problem is their color palette which is limited.
Well they seem to be aiming for the Burberry etc market. At least they don’t fall apart after one season, my raincoats still going strong, ironically from a time when they were still a cheap brand, some eight to ten years on….
I’m very pleased H&M is finally here, and that they’ve come here on their own terms, rather than partnering up with a local conglomerate like Zara and Gap have had to. H&M may well sell cheap crap, but it’s well-designed cheap crap rather than the badly-designed, tasteless cheap crap that is the bread and butter of Korean fashion chains (all of which are pretty abominable, by the way).
H&M’s presence in Myeongdong will transform the whole area. The development that the store is part of (Noon Square) is already home to a new Zara and Mango and looks set to become the heart of the Myeongdong district. This really couldn’t have come soon enough. An earlier attempt was made to give Myeongdong a centre with the building of the unit that houses the original Zara and Forever 21, but already this seems like a tired and dirty shell. Little wonder, given that it is surrounded by crappy make-up shops, unlicensed hawkers’ stalls and dismal imported chain stores. So long as the area around Noon Square is well-maintained and the owners resist the urge to quadruple the rent, Myeongdong can congratulate itself on a sizeable step into the 21st century.
Incidentally, a poster above wondered why Korea has yet to produce a decent fashion designer – I would suggest that it is because Koreans know very little about what fashion exists outside of this badly-dressed peninsula. I teach fashion students and it often shocks me how little interest they actually have in fashion beyond tacky high-street Korean tat. I gave a couple of lectures last semester on the history of the fashion industry and was very disappointed that the names of even the most monolithic of luminaries were new to them. Top designers become top designers because of their fluency in a wide range of styles and paradigms, their knowledge of the history and achievements of their profession, and respect for the materials they work with. Given the virtually closed market that Koreans work within, it will be a long time yet before any Korean bothers the annals of fashion greats.
I really liked your translations at the bottom of the page – always good to know a few more Korean words. My g/f, a gyopo, always used to say that Koreans liked a sort of throw-back, prissy, 50s-style fashion, and I guess 아기자기 하다 is the word that best describes it.
I think the style suits Korean girls really well, but I don’t think it works quite as well for men! (You wouldn’t catch me dead in a pink polo shirt and cotton vest for example. But each to their own!)
Anyway, good post, look forward to some more. “>
This.
I met and had a long chat with a couple of H&M executives this past weekend. They both were grousing about being more or less compelled to alter their standard business model at the behest of the Korean partners that they were more or less compelled to take on as the price of entry in a way that they felt doomed them to eventual failure in Korea because, in part, of an unsustainable increase in the pricing model that will result in Korean consumers paying more than the “world price”. Nothing changes in the Hub of Exploitation.
@47
Really? I was led to believe that H&M had entered Korea more-or-less independently. I suppose though that that could never really be allowed to happen here. I note also that a couple of the big companies are opening stores that are closely based on the H&M model (SPAO and Mixxo, both of which I will bet real money will be absolutely shit), in the time-honoured copy-the-competition-and-starve-them-out fashion.
Prices like that make me grateful to be within driving distance of two major outlet malls. My closet is stuffed with Ann Taylor petite-sized blouses and shirts that cost $8 each. I’d be more likely to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow than a short-waisted top in Korea.
“Sonagi”, that coat would be more money in the states though most designer labels are more expensive here than elsewhere. For women, shopping for clothes is always a pain.
Is there any empirical data on this? If there is such a discrepancy in prices in Korea vis-a-vis other markets, what are the causes? Tariffs? Exchange rates? Prevalence of counterfeit goods? What?
This is what I’m talking about.
The OP should get to the bottom of this rather than throwing out half-baked ideas glazed with unneeded Korean vocabulary lessons.
Sperwer says they did partner with a local interest, which I believe, because this has been the unvarying model from Costco to Cinnabon in Korea. What is your basis for saying H&M is in Korea “on its own terms”?
@dogbertt
This line from an article in the Korea Herald: “Industry insiders say that unlike Zara or Uniqlo, which made rather smooth entries into the country by partnering with local Lotte Shopping Co., the launch of H&M was delayed because the brand chose to do so independently.”
See here: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/27/201002270044.asp
However, it seems now that the claim above may not actually be the case.
See also the following ‘dirty foreigners ripping off us poor, innocent Koreans’ piece here: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/03/135_61801.html
(You’ll need to use Internet Explorer to view the above link, as the KT has decided to make its website as much of a fucking joke as its ‘journalism’ is.)
Would Sperwer’s acquaintances like to come on-line and spell their grousing out? To say yes, the higher pricing policy has been due to their Korean partners?
Because as much as I believe your story, until they are ready to do so, it’s just something out of “Sperwer’s dinner party (?) camp” (I’m guessing here because if it were on business terms, I would have thought there was some sort of confidentiality)
Dogbertt, thanks for your advice.
I don’t think I have offered any ideas, full-baked or half-baked on *why* the price is high. I would get to the bottom, if you(or anyone else) paid me to do so. Because this is a fascinating topic as always, Koreans ripping other Koreans off.
By the way here is another related piece of news from an economics publication.Why both China and Japan get their prices of high-end designer goods lowered while the price increased in Korea . The guilty parties are Dior, Hermes, Chanel, Prada, Fendi etc. A dior bag increased its price from 270 만원 to 300 만원.
Is this also because the “Korean partners” are trying to make money? Maybe their insider knowldege consists of the tired one-liner “한국소비자는 봉이다” ? And what happens to the higher margin? Is it shared betweent the Korean side and the brand?
Hmm. Interesting. If only I were an investigative journalist..
Since Sperwer chapped your hide, Yuna, how about responding to my rather polite, reasonable request in #37? Or do you actually prefer to the rough talk?
I am not into that. Sonagi might be. (btw, thanks sonagi sunbae, for the welcome).
gbnhj, what was your question exactly? You want to know the age range of H&M’s target market? Well, speaking from a personal experience, it’s for young girls still at school, and for women in their 20′s who want to mix and match cheap stuff with more expensive stuff. I had a personal experience with my best friend at school who scrunched up her nose “H&M shops always smell funny” and that was that for me, though I do think it’s great that they have such a big choice and the way they put things together is very accessible.
I think there is another very strong point here. The standardization of these chain shops and clothes, means that there is no “haggling” involved. I can trust that someone in one city is getting the exact same thing at the same price at the same moment as someone somewhere else, which does not happen with all the different private-owned stalls. This will be a plus. Maybe it will force a change in the Korean labour market too.
By jove, that’s some mad insight to the bidness world.
I’m sure Patek Philippe, Louis Vuitton, Giorgio Armani, Salvatore Ferragamo and the rest of the crew would pay top dollar for such advice.
You and I were talking about the case of Gap cap. A price of a Gap cap on sale in the US which could be as cheap as, or cheaper than the “fake” ones in Seoul, with the same pricing in Korea. I don’t believe that many would buy the fake for 5 dollars if they can get it on sale for 6 dollars or something. And I don’t think the margin for the fake dealers will work out if the price got lower than that.
GAP is not a brand which benefits from exclusivity=high price anyway.
Actually, I wanted you to clarify who you saw as H&M’s target market, given that you’d effectively identified two groups – experienced, worldly women in their late-twenties to early thirties and fad-seeking schoolgirls – that are really unlikely to be shopping for the same apparel. However, you redescribed the target market well enough to make it work.
You ought to be a bit more careful.
No, I thought we’re talking about the difficulty of a business to establish its brand (especially a conspicuously labeled brand) here when it’s undermined by counterfeits. The GAP and the higher priced Von Dutch, both very conspicuous brands, were examples.
Without even establishing a retail presence in Korea the GAP became a hit brand…for a while, and then soon enough it became too much and later passé. (Quite fascinating how a brand not sold in Korea becomes a hit; all the product sold was counterfeit.) Von Dutch did establish a small retail presence, but obviously it didn’t follow your low-low-prices strategy.
Neither H&M nor Zara are as conspicuously labeled. Their business model is more copying renown designers and get similar product on shelves within weeks of appearing on the runway. They aren’t as threatened by counterfeits, since they market a hot look and not a label.
Certainly it’s a very effective strategy, and one that’s easier to defend. Perhaps label-driven brands are passé.
A bit late, but better late than never.
Congratulations on your first post as a guest blogger, yuna. Looking forward to reading more of your postings.
Again, thanks to everyone for the welcome into their warm 부슴s. Unwelcomes are welcome too. Surpringly, it doesn’t *at all* feel like walking into a lair of serpents.
I think the answer is in the article:
“명품업체들이 일부 인기품목 위주로 가격을 꾸준히 올리는 것을 보면 의도적으로 값을 비싸게 해 희소성과 브랜드 가치를 높이려는 전략이 엿보인다”
Sounds like a very good strategy to me.
Yippee ki-yay, cowpokes!
Surpringly, it doesn’t *at all* feel like walking into a lair of serpents.
Because it’s your first post. Wait till you get into the thick of things.
Thanks, that’s interesting.
“Express” was another store that was cool in the West
10 years ago. Will they, too, be coming to Korea soon?
(If Lotte or some other chaebol says they can?)
Very interesting thread. Of course it’s possible H&M was delayed by its decition to go it alone, and then gave up and took on Korean partners. Thus Dogbertt and Sperwer and StevieBee are all correct.
In any event, I thought Koreans were resigned to paying higher prices for name brands, that being the cost of a closed and protected market.
Meanwhile, the mom & pop clothing stores and stalls of Myeong-dong and various U-districts were one of Korea’s greatest attractions for my wife – and, I’m guessing, for a lot of Asian tourists. (Dongdaemun, not so much; too much quantity and too little quality.) Be a shame to lose that in the mad rush to globalize. Ditto with Korea’s mom & pop restaurants.
Serpents bite, here they just bark
Good for Korean young one’s. They will enjoy the attractive price, if H&M marked price as other market, trendy design along. It would be interesting who would be the winner H&M or Uniqlo? Or there’s would be a new Korean brand launch to the market.
Oh and my Congrats on your first post, Yuna!
H&M will easily beat out Uniqlo on account of the fact that Uniqlo offers mainly utilitarian ‘basics’, whilst H&M are offering cheap, disposable glamour. Where do you think a student is more likely to spend their clothing allowance?
Someone raised a point earlier about Gap not being too successful here. This is because they’re catering for a section of consumers that don’t really exist in Korea. The crossover between the group of people who can afford to buy clothes from Gap and the group of people who want to go for the preppy, clean-cut American look is relatively small. I certainly noticed the last time I was in the Gap store in Myeongdong that there was a slightly defeated air about the place.
Why the GAP wasn’t successful in Korea? When the Gap rule the U.S in 90s, they did’t want to nor need to enter Korean market. So many Korean CO’s, including the one I worked for, wanted to bring it but the deal never signed. While bad quality cheap cheap counterfeit spreaded widely in Korean market. Which demaged Brand images so badly on the GAP. That’s was one of the reasons
Uniqclo seems to be doing quite well here and H&M, which I’m not familiar with, going by StevieBee’s description, will cater to a different segment, so shouldn’t give Uniqclo direct competition.
There’s a Gap in the Shinsegae dept. store that’s been fairly successful, tho it’s a small shop.
As for Korean designers, there are a number of good ones here, just check out Seoul Fashion Week. There could be some successful domestic designers here if they got the backing and promotion.
“Why the GAP wasn’t successful in Korea? When the Gap rule the U.S in 90s, they did’t want to nor need to enter Korean market. So many Korean CO’s, including the one I worked for, wanted to bring it but the deal never signed.”
The point of this thread, if I understand it correctly, is foreign retailers don’t want to be forced to partner-up with a Koreans who can “bring them in.” Yet that’s the only way to enter Korea’s closed, protected market. Those retailers who give in, hope the desirability of their name brands will compel Korean customers to pay the higher prices (forced by the unwanted Korean partners) than they’d pay outside of Korea. Some survive in such a situation. Many don’t. Korean consumers always lose, but ought to place the blame for high prices not upon the foreign retailer but with Korea’s closed and protected market system.
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