Korean Fashion Gains from Pop-Culture Boom
26 June, 2021
Korean online fashion retailers have become popular in Japan and elsewhere thanks to K-pop bands and TV series.
Musinsa, Korea's No. 1 online fashion retailer, chose Japan as its first overseas market and established a branch office there. Zigzag, a shopping app that sells trendy clothes from the Dongdaemun garment district of Seoul, launched trial marketing services in Japan after joining hands with popular influencers there.
Brandi, another online retailer selling Dongdaemun brands, joined hands with Internet portal Naver to begin doing business in Japan. And mobile fashion application A-bly launched a Japanese version in January.
Last month, it series "Vincenzo" became the most viewed program on Netflix Japan. An Search on the internet on Yahoo Japan contributes to postings about the formal suits featured in the drama and also clothes worn by the feminine lead, Jeon Yeo-been.
Left: The screenshot of Zigzag's Japanese software Naunau on its website. Right: Korea's TV series "Vincenzo" appears as the most-viewed on Netflix Japan, in this grab from the video streaming platform.
Musinsa isn't increasing its physical presence in Japan but gives clothes makers here the support they want in marketing their products there. Zigzag, that was acquired by Kakao earlier this season, introduced a fashion e-commerce app called Naunau in Japan to pave just how for Dongdaemun apparel makers to market their products there.
Brandi is selling its products via an web store in Japan run by Naver. Industry insiders say Naver and Kakao plan to expand their online fashion sales worldwide using Japan as a launching board.
Some small online fashion retailers had already pioneered the Japanese market before these big names. An industry insider said, "Japan's fashion market centers around offline retail shops and specialty stores, but demand for online fashion malls surged this past year due to the coronavirus pandemic."
Japanese consumers are discerning fashionistas, and the garment businesses of Dongdaemun are expert at maintaining the most recent trends and responding promptly, so they are well suited to meet up the demand. Another favorable factor may be the similar climate to Korea, which creates similar demand for seasonal clothing.
Another business insider said, "We considered selling our clothes in Southeast Asia, however the biggest drawback was that demand there is for summer clothes only."
Another appeal of Japan is that younger Japanese consumers are rarely swayed by the notoriously fractious relations between your neighbors. Unlike China, where customers are testily patriotic and ever prepared to join government hate campaigns and boycotts, Japan is a trustworthy market.
"Korean fashion houses have a tendency to prefer Japan, where customers are less political," one retailer said.
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