2022 Per Capita Luxury Goods Purchase Amount 'World No.1'
Domestic Marketing More Active Than Before
"Korea's Status Changed in Luxury Industry"
The status of the Korean market in the luxury industry is changing. As domestic luxury consumption reaches the highest level in the world and Korea emerges as a major spender in the luxury sector, the industry is engaging in various marketing activities, from fashion shows to pop-up exhibitions.
According to a report released on the 15th by the U.S. financial media CNBC, citing Morgan Stanley analysis, last year Koreans spent $16.8 billion (approximately 20.9 trillion KRW) on luxury goods, with a per capita expenditure of $325 (about 400,000 KRW), ranking first in the world. The annual per capita luxury spending in the U.S. and China was $280 (about 350,000 KRW) and $55 (about 70,000 KRW), respectively, slightly lower compared to Korea. The domestic luxury market is expanding at an unprecedented pace, as exemplified by Cartier, a representative luxury jewelry brand, which recorded double-digit growth in sales in the Korean market last year, the only region to do so compared to the previous year.
Model Jung Ho-yeon, who appeared in the Netflix drama "Squid Game," is walking the runway at Louis Vuitton's "2023 Pre-Fall Fashion Show." [Photo by Louis Vuitton]
Luxury brands focusing on the Korean market are showing diverse approaches. Not only are major domestic celebrities serving as ambassadors for various luxury brands, but large-scale fashion shows and pop-up exhibitions?events not previously attempted?are also being held. For example, Louis Vuitton held the ‘2023 Prefall Fashion Show’ at the Hangang Jamsugyo Bridge in April, attracting over 1,600 spectators. Following this, the Prefall collection pre-sale was successfully conducted for a month at ‘East Dosan’ in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. This was Louis Vuitton’s second domestic fashion show since 2019, and the first time a Prefall fashion show was held.
Additionally, Louis Vuitton’s travel book ‘Fashion Eye’ Seoul edition, themed around Seoul, was recently published and became a hot topic. Louis Vuitton, which has embraced travel as a brand philosophy since its inception, has been steadily publishing three types of travel books?‘City Guide,’ ‘Travel Book,’ and ‘Fashion Eye’?since 1998. While Seoul has been introduced in the City Guide and Travel Book before, this is the first time the Fashion Eye Seoul edition has been published. Seoul became the sixth city to appear in all three Louis Vuitton travel book series.
Gucci also held the ‘2024 Cruise Fashion Show’ around Geunjeongjeon Hall at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul last May. This was Gucci’s first fashion show in Korea in 25 years since opening its first domestic store in 1998. In April last year, the French luxury brand Dior held a fashion show on the Seoul campus of Ewha Womans University. Dior’s domestic fashion show was the first in 15 years since the ‘Dior 60th Anniversary Fashion Show’ in 2007.
An industry insider said, "Until before COVID-19, it was rare for the luxury industry to recognize Korea as a major country, but as domestic luxury consumption reached the highest level in the world, almost all brands are paying more attention to Korea than before," adding, "The reason various luxury brands are conducting diverse activities domestically should be seen as a result of Korea’s elevated status in the luxury market."
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