This Year's Last Chance for 'Deuktem'... Department Stores Begin Year-End Regular Sales

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The department store industry is kicking off the last winter regular sale of the year to stimulate consumer sentiment, which has been subdued due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the department store industry on the 10th, Lotte Department Store will hold a winter regular sale for 17 days from the 13th to the 29th under the theme of ‘Korea Fashion Festa.’ Through this sale, Lotte Department Store plans to ignite sales recovery in the fashion industry, which has been in a prolonged slump this year due to COVID-19.

The domestic fashion market began to regain momentum after October. In fact, Lotte Department Store’s October sales increased by 5% compared to the previous year, with men’s fashion up 15% and women’s fashion down 6%. This shows a rebound from the slump that had continued with a negative growth rate of over -10% for several months due to COVID-19. Accordingly, Lotte Department Store plans to focus on fashion product categories and continue the improving sales trend with various events and customer appreciation promotions.

First, from the 12th to the 15th, the ‘Korea Representative Fashion Group Fashion Week’ will be held at Lotte Department Store nationwide stores. The two major pillars of Korean fashion, ‘Hansome’ brands such as Time, Mine, Lanvin Collection, and System, along with Samsung C&T’s (11.13~15) Kuho, Le Beige, and Beanpole will participate. Additionally, ‘Baba Fashion’s’ Jigott, The Izzat Collection, Izzat Baba, and ‘Siseon International’s’ Missha and It Missha will join, with a total of 38 brands offering 10?20% discounts. Furthermore, an additional 5?10% discount will be applied when paying with a Lotte Card, and Lotte gift certificates worth 5% of the purchase amount will be given according to the purchase tier.

Moreover, various popular outerwear events have been prepared. While bulky long padding jackets have been popular over the past 2?3 years, this winter, due to increased restrictions on travel and outings, demand is expected to be particularly high for short-length padding or coats that are easy to put on and take off. Accordingly, Lotte Department Store will increase the quantity of short padding and coats by more than 20% compared to last year.

As a representative major event, the Jamsil branch will hold an overseas luxury goods exhibition from the 12th to the 17th, offering premium outerwear at up to 50% discount. The main branch will hold an outdoor padding fair from the 13th to the 19th, selling padding from 11 brands including National Geographic, The North Face, Kolon Sports, and Black Yak at 30?70% discounts.

Additionally, from the 13th for three days, a customer appreciation event will be held where Lotte gift certificates worth 5?10% will be given according to the purchase amount when buying fashion products. During the sale period, a voting event titled ‘Pick the National Outerwear’ will be held to select the popular outerwear of 2020, and 100 customers who participate in the voting will be drawn to receive a 50,000 KRW fashion support gift certificate.

A customer is looking at winter coats at the Lotte Department Store main branch. (Photo by Lotte Department Store)

Shinsegae Department Store is also launching a regular sale to capture year-end consumer sentiment. Shinsegae Department Store will hold the last year-end sale of the year from the 13th to the 29th at all stores, featuring exclusive brands and famous domestic and international brands.

First, from the 12th, customers can meet overseas famous brands at up to 50% discounted prices. Starting with Rick Owens, Michael Kors, Coach, and Longchamp, Givenchy and Off-White will also offer up to 50% discounts until January 31 of next year.

From the 21st, luxury select shops available only at Shinsegae, such as Boon the Shop, My Boon, Shoe Collection, and Boon Junior, will also participate in the season-off sale, attracting customers with discounts of up to 30%.

Following luxury goods, sales covering all genres from fashion to lifestyle and food have also been prepared. During the event period, famous furniture brands such as Downing and Design Ventures, as well as Casa Mia, a lifestyle brand operated by Shinsegae, will offer discounts of up to 30%. Additionally, women’s casual brands Juicy Judy and On & On will offer up to 30% discounts, and fashion genres including Dupont shirts and Daks shirts will hold discount events of up to 50% during the period.

To celebrate the sale, large-scale customer appreciation events have also been prepared. From the first weekend of the sale, the 13th to the 19th, customers who purchase a total of 300,000, 600,000, or 1,000,000 KRW or more across all genres using the ‘Shinsegae THE S Samsung Card’ will receive gift certificates worth 5% of the purchase amount. From the 20th to the 26th, customers who purchase a total of 300,000, 600,000, or 1,000,000 KRW or more across all genres using the ‘Shinsegae Citi Clear Card’ will receive 5% gift certificates, and those who purchase 2,000,000, 3,000,000, 5,000,000, or 10,000,000 KRW or more in a single brand will receive Shinsegae gift certificates worth 5% of the purchase amount.

Galleria Department Store will begin its winter regular sale from the 13th to the 29th. Over 100 brands will offer discounts of up to 40%, and overseas luxury brands will hold a 30% season-off sale starting on the 20th (Friday). The luxury hall will run Christmas marketing alongside the sale. A large chandelier Christmas tree will be displayed in collaboration with the luxury brand ‘Fendi,’ and a Christmas gift shop specializing in cashmere will be operated targeting the ‘homebody’ demographic.

Additionally, a ‘Print Bakery’ pop-up store exhibiting and selling artworks by famous domestic and international artists will provide visual attractions. At Galleria Gwongyo, pop-up stores featuring winter-specialized products such as the premium padding brand Moncler, winter shoe brand UGG, and Italian high-end padding brand Peuterey will open for the winter season. Furthermore, at Timeworld in Daejeon, well-known domestic and international brands such as Kenzo, Coach, and Tumi will participate in the sale, and a Bang & Olufsen pop-up store will be held from the 13th to the 19th.

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