Shinsegae Inter Growing Its 'Online Direct Mall,' Declares 'Premiumization'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Shinsegae International announced that it will develop its official online mall, SI Village, into a luxury platform representing South Korea.

On the 24th, Shinsegae International stated, "Recently, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the consumer trend of purchasing luxury goods online has been strengthening," adding, "In response, we plan to strengthen the sales of luxury brands on our online mall."

SI Village is Shinsegae International’s own mall launched in 2016, hosting over 180 brands in the fashion, beauty, and living categories. Notably, about 30 luxury brands such as Armani, Maison Margiela, and Herm?s Beauty sell only 100% authentic products imported under official distribution rights, not parallel imports.

In the first quarter of this year alone, Shinsegae International introduced a total of five luxury brands to SI Village. In January and February, luxury fashion brands Philip Plein and Sacai were launched, followed by Herm?s Beauty, Italian shoe brand Giuseppe Zanotti, and leather goods brand Fontana Milano 1915 in March. Next month, the luxury children’s wear brand Armani Junior is also scheduled to launch.

This is the first time these brands have officially entered the domestic online mall market. In particular, Giuseppe Zanotti first entered Korea in 2012, but this year, after signing a contract with Shinsegae International, it granted exclusive online distribution rights.

SI Village is also expanding its selection of emerging overseas and domestic designer brands through its own online select shop, Select 449, broadening customer choices.

This year alone, new brands such as British jewelry brand Monica Vinader, designer shoe brand KIERA, knitwear specialist brand Replain, Portugal’s representative shoe maker Carlos Santos, international project brand Stereo Vinyls, and designer brand Low Classic, which combines classic and wit, have been added.

A Shinsegae International official said, “It is rare for overseas brands to grant online distribution rights to domestic distributors, but many brands are entering the online mall due to SI Village’s premium strategy,” adding, “We plan to strengthen the image of SI Village as a luxury platform that sells trustworthy luxury brands.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.