Shinsegae launches the luxury goods and watch floor mainly targeting Chinese tourists on November 14. (image: Shinsegae Department Store)
SEOUL, Nov.14 (Korea Bizwire) – Shinsegae Department Store opens a specialized luxury goods and watch section on the basement floor in its main store in downtown Seoul as it will have about 20 world famous luxury brands.
Shinsegae launches the luxury goods and watch floor mainly targeting Chinese tourists on November 14. The official expects Chinese customers who buy expensive watches and luxurious goods would account for about 20 percent of total customers until the end of this year as sales by Chinese tourists have been constantly on the rise.
This is a stark contrast with its main store’s overall sales trend in which the Chinese visitors take only 7 percent in total. Chinese tourists who buy expensive wristwatches costing over US$30,000 and over $50,000 account for 30 percent and 50 percent respectively. Over the past three years, the growth rate for sales in luxury watches by Chinese tourists was 750 percent.
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Against this backdrop, Shinsegae Department Store launched ten more luxury brands including Parmigiani Fleurier, Chronoswiss, Lange & Söhne, and Frederique Constant in addition to Rolex, Cartier, Omega, Tag Heuer, and Breguet. With the new launch, Shinsegae’s main branch will have 20 luxury watch brands in total. Also, the department store is planning to open a new space for Bulgari and Van Cleef Arpels in 2015.
The reason behind the launching is Chinese tourists have shown a strong purchasing power so the retailers see them as a next consumer market growth engine. The launch of luxury goods and watches also expects to meet the demand for the newlyweds and young male customers who would buy luxury watches for wedding presents or for their own collection.
By Caroline Seo (caroline@kobizwire.com)
