Home Shopping, Fierce Competition in Launching 'Exclusive Fashion'... Full Effort for Second Half Rebound

Hyundai Home Shopping to Launch 4 New Brands in Second Half
Maximizing Customer Influx through Fashion Brand Differentiation

The home shopping industry is competing to launch exclusive fashion brands targeting this year's fall and winter (F/W) fashion market. Although fall and winter are peak seasons for fashion, this year is particularly intense. Having experienced a gloomy first half of the year due to declining performance, companies are putting all their efforts into strengthening the fashion sector in the second half to seek a rebound.

A newly launched 'Deb Plus' photo shoot by Lotte Homeshopping. [Photo by Lotte Homeshopping]

According to Hyundai Home Shopping on the 25th, the company will introduce four new brands in the second half: PartsParts, Ungaro, Euroselected, and Burdamun White. While no new fashion brands were launched last year, this year they are adding four, operating a total of 11 fashion brands. The number of items per brand has also tripled. CJ OnStyle plans to launch four new fashion brands, including Barneys New York and Lucky Brand RTW. Last year, they introduced three new brands (Colmar, Sunshiner, Senzone Blue Label), and this year the number has increased by one. They operate a total of 20 brands, the most among home shopping companies. Lotte Home Shopping, which launched two new brands last year, has announced plans to release five brands this year, including V-Bridge and Deb Plus. This brings their total exclusive brands to 13. GS Home Shopping did not add any exclusive brands but focused on enhancing the recognition and product quality of existing brands.

T-commerce (product-selling data broadcasting) companies are no exception. Having fallen into a decline in the first half, they are competing to expand their presence as fashion channels. SK Stoa will launch its first licensed brand, Jones New York, aiming at the old money look trend to ensure customers can buy quality products even if purchasing just one item. Shinsegae Live Shopping currently operates 10 exclusive brands and plans to expand to about 30 brands to secure loyal customers. KT Alpha has also secured exclusive licensing for the jeans brand Josjin and plans to strengthen its brand lineup.

The reason the home shopping industry is putting all its efforts into expanding fashion brands is that it is a crucial card to boost company strength in the second half. For industrial products or food, it is difficult to increase sales with just one broadcast due to the familiarity of online ordering. High-priced home appliances like vacuum cleaners or furniture also have consumption cycles, making strong customer inflow hard to expect. In contrast, clothing allows for continuous consumption, and fall and winter clothes have higher unit prices than other seasons, making it easier to generate sales. Especially, exclusive products can create differentiation between channels, attracting customers to specific home shopping channels.

However, there are concerns that expanding exclusive brands could backfire. Since free returns are basically applied, the purchase conversion rate tends to be low, and if sales are sluggish and inventory increases, it can be fatal to the company's profits.

A home shopping industry insider said, "Typically, for clothing, the break-even point is said to be sales of over 1 billion won during a one-hour TV broadcast. If this is not achieved, additional broadcast time must be secured, which can start a vicious cycle. Success in fashion is a matter of luck, so increasing the number of brands does not necessarily lead to improved performance."