Most domestic fast fashion (SPA) brands are mainly sought after by younger generations. However, there is a clothing company that uniquely enjoys the love of middle-aged and older customers, known as the 'moms' SPA,' Montemilano. Founded by CEO Oh Seo-hee, a 1993 Miss Korea 'Dallas Jin' titleholder, this clothing brand has risen as a leader in senior fashion through designs that are both stylish and practical.
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The domestic clothing market has long been polarized between luxury brands and SPA (fast fashion) brands. SPA brands sell a variety of products at low prices with rapid turnover. Representative brands popular among young people include TopTen, Uniqlo, Zara, and H&M. However, there is a brand more popular than these among seniors. This is Montemilano, the so-called 'moms' SPA.'
Montemilano was founded in 2001 by CEO Oh Seo-hee, who was Miss Korea 'Dallas Jin' in 1993. Oh, who majored in Western painting at the University of Oklahoma City, entered the clothing industry for one reason: "I disliked that the paintings I painstakingly created were hung only in the homes of a few capitalists." She introduced herself not as a businessperson but as a 'clothing artist' who wants her creations to be collected in the wardrobes of ordinary people.
Montemilano's main target is women in their 40s and 50s. The brand produces and sells clothes that pursue stylish design but place more emphasis on practicality. Since busy moms raising children and managing households need easy-to-wash clothes, this was a key consideration. Oh realized this before founding Montemilano while working as a buyer for the French luxury brand Leonard. She said, "Leonard is a world-renowned brand with unique floral prints, but as a luxury brand, its clothes were difficult to wash." She added, "I came up with the idea to create printed clothes that are easy to wash with water, which led to the founding of the company."
Regarding the secret to leading the business for 23 years, Oh said, "I don't make many promises." She explained, "I don't tell employees that I'll treat them well once I make a lot of money. I don't even say let's play golf sometime when meeting with business partners. I avoid making empty promises and only make promises I can keep. I think this is the secret to longevity."
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There were ups and downs in the business. Due to the recession, all six stores were closed just two years after starting in 2003. Temporary department store booths were rented to clear inventory. At that time, clothes priced at 200,000 won were sold for 20,000 won, and the products sold out quickly. After these trials, Oh reset the prices of her brand's clothes to reasonable levels. She also began focusing on the senior-specialized SPA brand during this period. Since then, the business has taken off. Currently, Montemilano operates stores in over 30 department stores nationwide. Before COVID-19, sales even exceeded 50 billion won.
Montemilano, which mainly operates offline stores, suffered considerable damage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overseas businesses in the U.S. and China were also discontinued. However, since last year, after the pandemic subsided, the company has been exploring sales channels in Vietnam and New York. In May, it plans to participate in the 'Korea Brand Expo' held in Sydney through a small and medium enterprise co-growth program supported by Lotte.
In 2018, Oh held a fashion show for seniors at the Starfield Library in COEX Mall, Seoul. The Gangnam District Office, which organized the event, initially suggested including some senior models alongside tall, young models in their 20s. However, Oh persuaded them that ordinary seniors should be the main focus. Ultimately, the event was held with about 70 ordinary seniors without professional models. Oh recalled the moment with tears.
"About 400 people gathered around the Starfield Library. Moms doing laundry and grandmothers cooking dressed up beautifully and walked the red carpet, receiving the spotlight for the first time in front of their families. Seniors were initially awkward walking, but after going on stage several times, they became more confident. It was a moment when fear turned into excitement. One family hugged and cried after the finale."
Oh said she wants to live as a businessperson rich in humanities sensibility. As a fashion designer with a fine arts background and no prior fashion experience, she aspires to do work that helps people rather than just selling pretty clothes. This is why she holds several senior fashion shows annually, even though they do not significantly contribute to sales. After completing a master's degree in painting at Hongik University Graduate School, she plans to pursue a doctoral program in psychology. Oh said, "Like the saying 'Know thyself,' I believe a humanities-oriented businessperson is someone who knows themselves and acts accordingly." She added, "I want to engage in various businesses for seniors beyond just fashion."
While controversy erupted in Korea over the proposal to limit weekly working hours to a maximum of 69 hours, somewhere on the globe, a '4-day workweek' was officially introduced. That country is Kazakhstan, a landlocked nation in Central Asia. The introduction of a 4-day workweek in an Asian country, rather than a European welfare state, has attracted significant attention from netizens.
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While controversy over the proposal to limit weekly working hours to a maximum of 69 hours was ongoing in Korea, Kazakhstan in Central Asia will introduce a 4-day workweek starting July 1.
On the 25th (local time), Nur News reported that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the amended labor law, which includes provisions for the 4-day workweek, on the 20th.
The 4-day workweek principle designates Sunday as a holiday, and the third weekday off is determined by collective agreements or labor regulations. Additionally, if labor and management agree, rights to shift work such as 5-day or 6-day workweeks are also guaranteed.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor explained, "The first week of each month will be a 5-day workweek, and the second week a 4-day workweek, alternating weekly. This shift work practice is already applied to office workers in Kazakhstan and aligns with international labor standards."
Kazakhstan is a resource-rich country with the world's largest tungsten reserves, second-largest uranium and chromium reserves, and is among the top five countries richest in manganese, silver, zinc, and lead. It also ranks second globally in arable land per capita with 180 million hectares, making it the fifth-largest pastureland holder and one of the top ten wheat producers worldwide.
Meanwhile, several other countries are also adopting the 4-day workweek, expecting improvements in worker satisfaction and productivity.
Last year, Belgium announced amendments to labor laws enabling a 4-day workweek. According to the amendments, daily working hours were extended from a maximum of 8 hours to 9 hours and 30 minutes, and up to 10 hours with labor-management agreement. This allows workers to fulfill the maximum weekly working hours of 38 hours by working only 4 days, maintaining their wages.
In March, Australian private relief organization Oxfam allowed regular employees to switch from a 5-day, 35-hour workweek to a 4-day, 30-hour workweek without pay cuts. Additionally, following the Australian Federal Senate Labor and Care Committee's recommendation for full adoption of the 4-day workweek, the Australian government is considering pilot programs starting this month involving 29 companies.
Meanwhile, in Korea, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced in March a 'working hours system reform plan' to guarantee workers' choice, health, and rest rights. However, it faced criticism for potentially causing 'unpaid overtime' and 'long working hours.'
In response, the government postponed the reform, stating plans to collect opinions through a national survey of 6,000 people and focus group interviews (FGI).
The 'price war' among domestic delivery applications also became a hot topic among readers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, delivery apps competed to lower delivery fees to attract riders (delivery workers) and customers. However, the delivery fee war this year has taken a different turn. As delivery fees gradually rose and consumers began to leave, these companies have taken drastic measures, engaging in cutthroat competition to win back customers.
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On the 1st, data company IGAWorks reported via Mobile Index that from May 15 to 21, the weekly active users (WAU) of Baemin (Baedal Minjok) were 13.03 million. During the same period, Yogiyo and Coupang Eats had 3.46 million and 1.57 million users, respectively. Compared to the first week of May, Baemin's users decreased by 4.4%, Yogiyo by 5.2%, and Coupang Eats by 2.2%. This indicates that the effects of the delivery fee reduction strategies, which began in earnest in May, have yet to appear.
Last month, delivery app companies simultaneously announced measures to reduce delivery fees. Baemin expanded its 'Altteul Delivery' service area to Seoul, following Incheon and Daegu. This service involves Baemin directly delivering single orders but optimizes bundled deliveries based on routes to reduce delivery costs for restaurants and consumers. It is expected to reduce consumer costs to around 2,000 won.
Yogiyo introduced a subscription service called 'YogipassX,' which offers free delivery benefits. For a monthly fee of 9,900 won, customers can enjoy free delivery on orders over 17,000 won from stores with the 'YogipassX' badge. Coupang Eats offers linked discounts to Coupang 'Wow Membership' subscribers, allowing members to receive discounts on menu prices equivalent to delivery fees. This strategy aims for a 'lock-in effect' to retain loyal customers.
Industry insiders expect that these strategies will take time to show effects in the market. Baemin's Altteul Delivery started in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, and only expanded to 10 additional districts, including Seocho-gu, on May 24. It is expected to take another month to expand service areas across Seoul and major metropolitan cities. Yogiyo's free delivery subscription service also began in mid-May, and it is still early to assess its market impact.
An industry official said, "Delivery fees are also sensitive to other stakeholders in the delivery ecosystem, such as riders, so simply lowering fees is not the answer. Each company's strategy to reduce the perceived delivery fee burden is still in its early stages, and it will take time to establish itself and expand service areas."
Other issues such as MZ generation hot spots and the election of a 26-year-old mayor in Japan also ranked among the top stories.
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