Handsome's Multi-Brand Store "Kith Seoul"
Surpasses 400,000 Visitors in One Year
Attracting Gen Z Fashionistas with Limited Editions and F&B Spaces
Over 80% of Customers Are New to Handsome Brands
On May 27, fashion company Handsome announced that its multi-brand store "Kith Seoul," located in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, has surpassed a cumulative total of 400,000 visitors within one year of opening.
Kith is an American luxury lifestyle brand. Kith Seoul is the brand's global store launched in its fifth country, following Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan. With a retail space of approximately 1,487 square meters (about 450 pyeong), it is the largest Kith store in the world. The store offers not only Kith's own footwear and apparel but also fashion and accessory products from global fashion brands. In addition, it operates food and beverage (F&B) spaces, including a brunch restaurant and a cereal bar.
Kith Seoul has established itself as a leading "hip place" (a trendsetting spot) in Seongsu-dong, attracting Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2010) fashionistas. The store is highly regarded for its ability to source popular limited-edition products, its collaborations with a variety of global brands, and its F&B spaces with terrace areas. These strategies are considered highly optimized for Gen Z lifestyle trends.
As a result, Handsome is enjoying the effect of attracting new customers. The average age of Kith Seoul's purchasing customers is 34.1 years, which is more than five years younger than the overall average for all Handsome brands (39.9 years). In fact, over 80% of Kith Seoul's customers are new, with no prior purchase history from Handsome.
The key to Kith Seoul's popularity lies in its product operation strategy. Kith Seoul runs a "Monday Drop" program, releasing popular limited-edition products or new items in collaboration with global brands every Monday. This targets the Gen Z trend of enthusiasm for individuality and rarity. Through Monday Drop, Kith continuously introduces a variety of limited-edition sneakers as well as collaborative products with global brands from different fields, such as BMW, Giorgio Armani, and TAG Heuer.
A Handsome representative stated, "On release days for popular limited-edition sneakers like ASICS and Nike, or for collaborative products with global brands such as Marvel from The Walt Disney Company, lines of customers waiting outside the store stretch for hundreds of meters from early morning. On the release day for the new product lineup in collaboration with BMW, more than 2,000 customers visited the store."
The ability to enjoy shopping and F&B at the same time has also attracted customers. Taking into account MZ generation lifestyle trends, Handsome has incorporated elements throughout the space that encourage customers to post photos on social networking services (SNS). Kith Seoul features the brand-operated cereal ice cream bar "Kith Treats" on the first floor and New York brunch restaurant "Sadelle's" on the third and fourth floors. The hand-sized Kith Treats cereal ice cream with various toppings and the exotic, luxurious terrace space of Sadelle's have become must-visit spots for SNS photo opportunities.
To mark the first anniversary of Kith Seoul's opening, Handsome began renovating the store in mid-May. The goal is to create a space layout and product operation strategy even more optimized for domestic customer demand. Handsome also plans to further refine its product sourcing and operational strategies based on its experience operating its own multi-brand stores, such as EQL, MUE, and Tom Greyhound.
A Handsome representative said, "Kith Seoul, which attracted great attention from MZ fashionistas even before opening, has continued to expand its customer base and, within one year, has become the most prominent space in Seongsu-dong, the 'fashion mecca.' We plan to continue sourcing a diverse range of products tailored to Korean customer demand, further establishing ourselves as a differentiated fashion and cultural space."
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