Louis Vuitton to focus on department store business
French fashion house Louis Vuitton is set to beef up its menswear business as it pulls out of duty free stores here.
Earlier this month, British publisher, The Moodie Davitt Report, said Louis Vuitton was “progressively withdrawing from much of its downtown duty free business in Korea.
This seems to be part of the fashion house’s strategy to maintain its brand reputation by preventing “daigou,” or surrogate shoppers, from sweeping up products in duty free shops in downtown Seoul. These shoppers are paid to purchase luxury goods for overseas Chinese customers.
Instead, Louis Vuitton is planning to open menswear boutiques at department stores in Apgujeong, southern Seoul, June 24, and in the Jung District, downtown Seoul, in August.
Male customers are emerging as big spenders on luxury products in the local market, and Louis Vuitton wants to target them.
The luxury menswear segment was considered as a small market; but recently, young men have begun to show an increasing interest in highend fashion.
The heightened interest stems from employers allowing workers to dress casually in the office; while curtailed overseas travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic has left young consumers here with more cash to spend on expensive clothing instead of plane tickets and hotels.
“The trend of adopting free dress codes at local IT firms and start-up companies has been spreading and it has led male customers to pay more attention to luxury goods. In the past, men would come to high-end boutiques with their wives, but these days there is an increasing number of young male customers visiting luxury stores on their own,” a Hyundai Department Store staffer said.
At four major department stores, sales generated by menswear increased by 5 percent to 40 percent compared to revenue coming from womenswear.
According to Lotte Department Store, sales of luxury products to men in their 30s to 50s increased by 60 percent to 77 percent, far exceeding the average growth rate of 59.3 percent.
Other luxury fashion houses, including Prada and Dolce & Gabbana, opened menswear boutiques at Hyundai Department Store in Apgujeong, in January and June, respectively. In the second half of last year, Gucci and Balenciaga also launched their menswear brands at the same retailer.
Hyundai Department Store renovated the whole fourth floor to offer only men’s luxury brands; and its other branches in Yeouido and in Samseong-dong are also expanding into high-end brand stores for men.