Korean bag brands pivot in face of foreign luxury
Local media have suggested that South Korea-based leathergoods companies such as Korean Italian brand Metrocity and French Korean brand Louis Quatorze, both of which specialise in handbags and small leathergoods, will further integrate their online and offline content marketing strategies in the face of foreign competition.
According to reports, there is the sense that action must be taken to mitigate local perception that homegrown brands are all of “similar quality unless they are a foreign luxury brand”.
In a break from traditional offline distribution methods, greater emphasis will therefore be placed on merging the online and offline branded experience across the industry as a whole, in order to improve brand resonance among shoppers.
Online sales are steadily increasing, reports said, but so too is the “recent phenomenon” of purchasing luxury products made by overseas brands, which has only intensified on account of the pandemic.
Louis Quatorze, for example, aims to strengthen online-offline communications by diversifying its physical retail store portfolio in terms of considered interior design and decoration, which it hopes will better attract its target audience of millennials and generation Z (discussed together as the MZ generation in Korea).
Each boutique will feature a different design concept, linked to and harmonious with Louis Quatorze’s virtual channels, with the brand experience designed to remain the same, no matter where consumers encounter the brand.
For its part, Metrocity’s Garosu-gil flagship in Seoul features a photography zone, where shoppers can create and share content from within the boutique.
As recently reported by Vogue Business, digitally savvy Korean stars have been snapped up by Western luxury brands as global ambassadors in increasing numbers as of late, reflecting today’s need for content creation across diverse marketing channels (as opposed to more traditional print and billboard campaigns).
Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Saint Laurent, Chanel, Celine, Dior, Burberry and Givenchy are all now fronted by K-pop names in the global arena.
Image: Metrocity via Instagram.
