On the 14th, 'Adidas Bukchon Heritage' Store Unveiled
First Domestic Store Dedicated to Shoes, Featuring Rare Products
"With Korea's Elevated Status, More Localized Products to Be Introduced"
Next to Jeongdok Library on Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Following a small alleyway, the large flame logo, a symbol of the global sports brand Adidas, catches the eye. The store is housed in a red brick building with a small courtyard and a fence that appears to be inspired by traditional Hanok architecture. Peeking through the glass window, the ceiling lights above the store are covered with hanji paper, emitting a soft glow. The modern neon sign used for product information and elements derived from traditional Korean architectural styles create a strangely harmonious atmosphere.
On the 14th, Adidas will unveil its heritage store in Bukchon. It is a shoe-exclusive store, with 80% of the space dedicated to sneakers. Instead of sports shoes like running or basketball shoes, the store features major lines of Adidas Originals such as Samba, Gazelle, and Spezial, which can be worn as fashion items (performance line), along with premium collaboration products. The remaining 20% is filled with collaborative apparel products.
This is the first time Adidas has opened a shoe-specialized store in Korea. Bukchon was chosen as the location for the first shoe-exclusive store because it was considered a region that could well reflect Korea. Until last year, Adidas Korea was merely part of the Asia-Pacific market. However, as domestic consumer demand for the Adidas brand increased, the Korean market was separately classified and has been managed as an independent market since this year. Adidas has only seven independent markets worldwide, including Korea, Europe, South America, North America, and Japan.
The decision to open a directly operated shoe-exclusive store in Bukchon reflects Adidas's intention to focus on managing the Korean market intensively. The store showcases Adidas's trendy products all in one place. The store consists of a single floor of about 30 pyeong (approximately 99 square meters). There were 150 to 200 pairs of shoes on display. Compared to other Adidas stores, the store size is small, so it does not have a large number of shoes. However, there were many products exclusive to the Bukchon store, such as Samba tal, and premium products that were hard to find in other stores.
Samba tal is a reinterpretation of the Adidas Samba product inspired by Korea's traditional mask dance, Talchum. It was released last December in two colors, red and brown, with the red version gaining attention as the sneakers worn by celebrity Joo Woo-jae. In fact, on secondhand platforms, transactions with premiums were made. Adidas re-released the Samba tal product when opening the Bukchon store. An official encountered at the store said, "Samba tal is being traded at more than twice the price, so many people come to the store early in the morning to purchase it."
As the first store, popular collaboration products that were hard to find in other stores, such as the 'Sporty & Rich' series, were also easily seen. Sporty & Rich, an American brand, is collaborating with Adidas for the fifth time, creating a fandom for its apparel and footwear products. A separate display stand was installed on one side of the store to showcase premium collaboration products with higher price points. Visitors could see Sporty & Rich collaboration sneakers and sneakers made by Italian artisans priced around 400,000 won. Another section displayed the 'Taekwondo' product, known as a hard-to-get sneaker.
Another feature of this store is that customers can have their sneakers engraved. Adidas offers the 'Made For You' service, currently available only at the Bukchon, Myeongdong, and Hongdae stores. For a fee of around 30,000 won, customers can have engravings or lace replacements done at their desired locations. Additionally, Adidas is offering a free shoe decoration service for customers who purchase shoes until the 18th. Customers can decorate their shoes with ribbons, beads, flower ornaments, and more, together with professional designers.
Adidas expects that the Bukchon store will attract more overseas customers in addition to domestic ones. Just as Korean consumers purchase products unavailable in Korea while in Japan or Taiwan, individual foreign tourists visiting Korea may also visit the store to buy unique sneakers.
The fact that many foreign tourists visit Bukchon is also a basis for this expectation. Accordingly, Adidas will offer a Bukchon tour service for customers who purchase above a certain amount. An Adidas official said, "This Bukchon store is part of our localization strategy in Korea, targeting both domestic customers and foreign tourists," adding, "We will continue to introduce various projects that combine traditional Korean and modern elements."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
