Home Shopping 'Mega Hit'... Single Brand Sales Reach 100 Billion Won

Lotte Home Shopping Announces 2020 Hit Products

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] This year, influenced by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), knitwear that can be comfortably worn at home gained popularity, resulting in the emergence of a 'mega hit' product with over 100 billion KRW in orders from a single brand.

On the 14th, Lotte Homeshopping compiled the top 10 hit products of 2020 based on order quantities, revealing that 8 out of the 10 hit products were fashion items.

The number one hit product this year was the German fashion brand with 40 years of tradition, ‘Laurel,’ which topped the list for the second consecutive year. Featuring actress Han Go-eun as the model, its luxurious image attracted women in their 40s and 50s, resulting in sales of 1,602,000 sets, a growth of about 90% compared to the previous year. Innerwear set products such as high-neck and collar-type knits in 2 to 5 styles gained popularity. The order amount this year exceeded 100 billion KRW, setting the highest record since its launch.

The second place went to Lotte Homeshopping’s first exclusive fashion brand, ‘Georges Rech,’ which recorded 1,350,000 sets, an increase of about 130% compared to the previous year. While suit sets were popular last year, this year easywear gained attention. In November, when the third wave of COVID-19 began, orders surged by more than 20% compared to the previous month. The most popular ‘knit long dress in 3 styles’ sold about 20,000 sets during the broadcast on the 27th of last month. The exclusive brand ‘Daniel Este,’ ranked seventh, saw sales of 642,200 sets, a 20% increase compared to the same period last year, with items like ‘T-blouse’ gaining popularity.

Additionally, self-planned brands greatly expanded their innerwear lines and introduced premium materials, benefiting from the COVID-19 boom. ‘LBL (ranked 6th),’ regarded as the most successful self-owned fashion brand in home shopping, expanded the proportion of innerwear by 30% compared to last year in its fifth year since launch. Premium material products such as beaver and sable, introduced for the first time in the industry, sold out within 28 minutes during the launch broadcast. With a repurchase rate of 40%, cumulative orders this year reached about 70 billion KRW, with 685,300 sets sold. Stylish casual self-owned brand ‘Aizel (ranked 8th)’ also succeeded in targeting younger consumers in their 30s and 40s with the latest trendy colors and materials, selling 603,200 sets.

Notably, fashion brands specializing in innerwear entered the rankings in large numbers. ‘Bruns Bazaar (ranked 5th),’ which entered the rankings for the first time this year, recorded a total of 691,000 sets, an increase of about 170% compared to last year. Innerwear sales grew more than sixfold compared to the same period last year, with the ‘metal short-sleeve knit blouse’ alone selling 130,000 sets, accounting for 20% of total orders. It recorded the highest order volume among popular products of hit product brands. The French fashion brand ‘Cous-tent (ranked 10th),’ with 100% of purchases in innerwear, unusually saw its autumn knits and cardigans sell the most during the home shopping off-season of July and August. These months accounted for 30% of total sales, and men’s products also sold well, totaling 512,200 sets. ‘Anibef (ranked 9th),’ which ranked first in hit products in 2017 and 2019, offered cost-effective items and sold 544,500 sets.

Among general food brands, ‘Kim Na-woon The Kitchen (ranked 4th),’ which entered the rankings for the first time in eight years since 2012, gained popularity with products such as ‘Jjageuli,’ planned and researched directly with customers, and ‘Wagyu Hanpan.’ Demand during specific periods such as March, when COVID-19 first started, and May, the second wave, more than doubled compared to usual, resulting in sales of 729,000 sets, an increase of about 50% compared to last year.

Unlike previous years when color cosmetics accounted for more than half of sales, this year basic cosmetics accounted for 75% of purchases. ‘AHC (ranked 3rd)’ is a representative basic cosmetics brand with products such as ‘eye cream,’ which sold 200,000 sets, ‘tone-up cream,’ and ‘basic sets,’ recording 890,000 sets, about a 40% increase compared to the previous year.

Overall, demand concentrated on essential or fundamental products such as innerwear, basic cosmetics, and convenient home meals in the fashion, beauty, and food categories. Fashion items saw a decrease in outerwear purchases such as trench coats and jackets due to prolonged remote work, while innerwear like knits and T-shirts increased. Beauty products saw demand focus on basic cosmetics rather than color cosmetics as mask-wearing became mandatory during the pandemic and core consumption emphasizing basics spread. Mobile orders increased by 50% compared to the same period last year.

Yoo Hyung-joo, head of the product division at Lotte Homeshopping, said, “This year’s hit products showed that untact consumption focused on products that are fundamental rather than ‘value for money’ due to the impact of COVID-19. We believe that good results were achieved through product planning and programming based on big data analysis during difficult times, and we will continue to strive to proactively present differentiated products in rapidly changing situations.”

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