‘Koreans see designer brands as symbol of status’

By Korea Herald

Published : Oct 15, 2013 - 19:35

Updated : Oct 16, 2013 - 16:19

Koreans are ideal consumers of designer goods as a large part of

the population willingly open their purses based on their belief that
luxury items represent class and status, according to a team of
panelists at a forum co-organized by the Asia Society Korea
Center and Italian Chamber of Commerce in Korea on Tuesday.

“My first impression of Korea was that I called this a dream market
where people are actually excited to purchase luxury products ―
something that is now uncommon in Italy,” said TOD’s Korea
country manager Giuseppe Cavallo.
:
 Giuseppe Cavallo (left), the country manager of TOD’S Korea, speaks at a
forum on Korea’s luxury brand craze organized by the Asia Society Korea
Center at a hotel in Seoul on Tuesday. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)

He added that the purchasing power in Korea for luxury brands is

mainly with the older, married women who are actually very
conservative and that luxury is now a status.

This is because luxury goods, which once obtained their status

through exceptional quality and stylish designs, are now being
used as a measure of wealth for many, if not the majority, of
Koreans.

Reflecting this phenomenon, luxury items are becoming more

sophisticated in terms of trend and demand, according to Sophie
Park, the merchandising team leader for Lotte Duty Free.

“More consumers look for unique, limited and rare luxury goods,
which inevitably means pricier, and as a result the market for high-
end luxury goods are soaring relative to the low-end or semi-
luxury,” Park said.

She added that while women continue to be steady buyers, men

too are now seeking and purchasing luxury brands.
:
 Asia Society is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated
to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening
partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and
the United States in a global context.

The group has been hosting a series of monthly luncheons in

cooperation with The Korea Herald, where leaders and experts
from both the public and private sectors convene and discuss a
broad range of issues from the fields of policy, business,
education, arts and culture.

Tuesday’s luncheon was the second to last of the series, and the
three panelists had been invited to discuss the Korean
consumers’ inner motives for purchasing luxury brands.

The general consensus among the panelists was that there are
definitely noticeable, and possibly problematic, patterns occurring
in consumer behavior when purchasing luxury items.

“There is a societal aspect to this luxury craze as the higher class

tries to distinguish themselves from the lower class and this sort of
egalitarian system makes the lower class feel the need to keep
up,” said Henry Shinn, a tbs eFM host and a member of Tuesday’s
panel.

According to Shinn, Korean consumers buy luxury products for

self-satisfaction and feel better about themselves and how they
are perceived by others.

This is why luxury items are purchased, even by people who are
:
 unable to afford them. It also may be why Koreans are reticent to
buy home-grown brands, even those that are globally considered
“designer brands,” the panelists said.

The urge to feel special may even be associated to the reason

why Koreans are so passionate about education and finding
“respectable” jobs.

Just how Koreans feel about luxury goods are well illustrated in
the fact that sales remain intact despite that the Korea-Europe
FTA failed to sufficiently bring down prices.

“In Korea, everyone wants to be No. 1, which is impossible.

Otherwise how many No. 1s will you get?” said Cavallo. “Luxury
doesn’t mean trendy. It is completely different. We are already in
the other stage where you can wear something trendy without it
being expensive.”

By Kim Joo-hyun (jhk@heraldcorp.com)

:
 MOST POPULAR

Typhoon Khanun to hit S. Korea; flights canceled,

evacuations ordered
Aug 9, 2023
:
 Typhoon Khanun rampages through Korea
Aug 10, 2023
:
 Fans outraged at lawmaker’s call for 2 BTS members to
perform at jamboree K-pop concert
Aug 9, 2023

Yoon urged to sack ministers over Jamboree debacle

Aug 9, 2023
:
 Bundang attacker insists he is being 'stalked, bullied'
Aug 10, 2023

More articles by this writer

Back to List

ANNOUNCEMENT CONTACT US LOCATION

ABOUT KOREA HERALD ABOUT HERALD CORPORATION

The Korea Herald by Herald Corporation

Copyright Herald Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
: