[Report] With Corona + End of Suneung + Cold Wave Forecast... Department Store Sales Soar on First Weekend of Sales

Lotte Gangnam Store 'The Conran Shop'... 'Artist Performance' Draws Crowds
Lotte, Shinsegae, Hyundai Department Store See Around 30% Sales Growth on First Weekend of Sale

On the 21st, French graphic artist Damien Poulain is presenting an art performance at 'The Conran Shop' in Lotte Department Store Gangnam Branch, Daechi-dong, Seoul. To celebrate its 2nd anniversary, The Conran Shop transformed the entire store into an exhibition space in collaboration with Damien Poulain. In line with the phased recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic (With Corona), the event also included an on-site performance and a fan signing session with the artist visiting Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] "Wow, it's live drawing!"

On the afternoon of the 20th, the first weekend of the department store sale, Lotte Department Store Gangnam Branch's 'The Conran Shop' was bustling with more people than usual. Visitors ranged from MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) fans who came to see the French graphic artist 'Damien Poulain's' impromptu performance to weekend family shoppers. As Damien Poulain picked up his brush for the art performance, all eyes turned to him. Passersby stopped in their tracks due to the crowd. During the performance, children fans even participated in coloring, creating an atmosphere of shared enjoyment. On one side, a cocktail tasting event was held, and a long line formed for the fan signing session. Except for the fact that everyone wore masks, it looked like a return to pre-COVID-19 normalcy.

◆The Conran Shop 2nd Anniversary, Crowds Gather

After the phased recovery of daily life (With COVID-19), face-to-face events were noticeable during the department store sale period for the first time in a while. Lotte Department Store decorated 'The Conran Shop,' which celebrated its 2nd anniversary, as an exhibition space and invited Damien Poulain to create an opportunity for direct interaction with fans. This was to provide customers visiting the store with an impressive 'experience.' A customer in their 40s who visited the department store said, "Since the COVID-19 outbreak, it has been a long time since an overseas artist visited, performed on-site, and had skinship with fans," expressing delight.

'The Conran Shop' is a premium lifestyle select shop that opened its first store in Korea and the 12th worldwide at Lotte Department Store Gangnam Branch in November 2019. It handles a wide range of products, from accessories priced around 10,000 KRW to sofas and tables worth tens of millions of KRW, attracting a more diverse customer base than any other department store section. It is also known that Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin frequently uses The Conran Shop products for gifts to acquaintances. After adding a branch in Dongtan in August, the number of VIP customers interested in high-end living products as well as MZ generation customers has noticeably increased. Sales at The Conran Shop have grown by more than 60% year-on-year from the beginning of this year to this month. The cumulative number of visitors has also exceeded 3 million.

A representative from The Conran Shop Korea said, "With the With COVID-19 phase, Damien Poulain visited Korea to personally celebrate The Conran Shop's 2nd anniversary and prepared various events for fans to enjoy together," adding, "Next year, we will continue to collaborate with famous domestic and international artists to showcase premium lifestyle brands that cannot be seen elsewhere."

On the 21st, French graphic artist Damien Poulain is presenting an art performance at The Conran Shop in Lotte Department Store Gangnam Branch, Daechi-dong, Seoul. To celebrate its 2nd anniversary, The Conran Shop transformed the entire store into an exhibition space in collaboration with Damien Poulain. In line with the phased recovery from the pandemic (With Corona), the artist visited Korea to hold an impromptu performance and a fan signing event.

◆First Weekend of Sale, Lively Atmosphere

Although the weekend was cloudy with heavy fine dust, the department stores were bright with the first weekend of the sale. Major department stores in Seoul were crowded with weekend shoppers. Not only the food courts but also the relatively quiet women's and men's fashion sections showed signs of liveliness. The department store industry evaluated it as encouraging that the fashion category's growth rate continues to rise, with a significant increase in demand for winter coats due to the cold wave starting again this week.

Lotte Department Store's sales during the first weekend of the sale from the 19th to the 21st rose 30.8% compared to the same period last year (third weekend of November). High growth was seen not only in home appliances (72.8%) but also in overseas fashion (72.3%), men's sportswear (35.2%), and women's accessories (30.4%). Shinsegae Department Store also saw a 30.3% increase in sales during the same period. Luxury goods (47.4%) and outdoor wear (40.9%), which had already recorded high growth rates, as well as sportswear (38.8%), men's fashion (29.1%), and women's fashion (15.6%) all grew steadily. Hyundai Department Store also experienced a sales increase of about 28.7% during this period. Notable was the strong performance of outdoor wear (53.1%), golf (52.2%), luxury goods (40.3%), and young fashion (41.1%).

It is evaluated that the fashion demand of office workers returning to work with With COVID-19 has continued since the beginning of this month. Considering that the same period last year was also during the sale, this is a noticeable change. A department store industry official said, "We will gradually increase offline events such as those targeting students who have finished the college entrance exam," adding, "The department store academy is also lively, with many face-to-face events reviving after With COVID-19."

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