Visitors look at clothes at Musinsa Standard, the first offline store of the country’s biggest online fashion mall, Musinsa, in Hongdae, western Seoul, on May 28, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The fashion industry continues to insist on operating offline stores despite a recent trend that focuses on online consumption.
Handsome, a local apparels brand, recently opened the offline Handsome House in Busan’s Haeundae District, following stores in Gwangju and Jeju, where visitors can access more than 1,000 products made by the company.
Online fashion mall Musinsa opened its first offline store Musinsa Standard in Hongdae, western Seoul last month.
Samsung C&T Corp., a construction and fashion unit of Samsung Group, also operates offline flagship Beaker stores in the Hannam and Cheongdam neighborhoods of Seoul.
LF, the apparel affiliate of LG Group, runs Raum East, an offline store that sells all LF brand products, in Seoul’s Gangnam District.
This seemingly backward trend in which the fashion industry is going against the online current to build offline stores is based on the marketing strategy that offline spaces will help to attract customers.
Whether visitors to the stores buy something or not, these brands can better connect with customers by offering an offline platform to try out various outfits.
The fashion industry believes that in the long run, the offline stores will help to build customer loyalty and lead to higher online sales.
“It goes beyond simple merchandising and product sales to allow visitors to physically experience the brand’s values and culture,” an official at LF said.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
