K-shaped Consumption Era

"How much did you say this iron costs?" A senior female customer who visited Emart’s Yongsan branch in Seoul lingered for a while in front of a display of boxes from Emart’s ultra-low price private label brand, "5K PRICE." She appeared quite surprised to see a steam iron priced at just 4,980 won. Given that this is a corded steam iron commonly found in electronics sections, she was notably astonished that a product with steam functionality was being sold for less than 5,000 won. This product marks the first entry into the small home appliance category for Emart's 5K Price lineup, which was launched in August last year. Moon Junghoon, Overseas Sourcing Buyer at Emart, who led the introduction of this item, said, "The most important factor when selecting products was how frequently the item is used," and added, "We believed that if we introduced a daily-use appliance like an iron, it would naturally become a touchpoint for customers to experience the 5K Price brand." The 4,980-won price

#The number of domestic major women's fashion brands entering the 29CM fashion platform last year more than tripled compared to 2023. It also increased by 43% compared to the previous year. This is an indicator showing that traditional fashion companies are rapidly moving away from an offline-centered distribution structure. In particular, there is a notable trend of expanding touchpoints, especially on platforms that attract women in their 20s and 30s. In the past, the core strategy was to design brand positioning, store layouts, and seasonal strategies to enter major department stores. Recently, however, more brands are planning products, pricing policies, and content strategies with platform entry as a premise. As K-shaped consumption spreads, companies operating mid-priced brands are shifting their business focus to online fashion platforms. This is a survival strategy aimed at targeting consumers' preferences by reducing the high commissions and operating costs of offline distribu

#The American fast fashion (SPA) brand Gap withdrew from the Korean market last year, marking the end of its 17-year presence since entering Korea in 2017. This was due to the expiration of the licensing agreement with its Korean importer, Shinsegae International. In the domestic market, Gap maintained higher prices through department store-centered operations, which led to it losing ground to cost-effective SPA brands like Uniqlo. Additionally, Kolon FnC discontinued its lifestyle brand 'Epigram' and menswear brand 'Amofre' after the fall/winter (FW) season last year. At the end of last year, Handsome ended the operations of its women's young casual brand 'SJYP' in department stores and outlets, while Samsung C&T Fashion Division also discontinued its women's brand Cotelo in the summer of last year. As the Korean consumer market is being reshaped around 'premium' and 'ultra-low price' segments, mid-priced brands are rapidly disappearing. This so-called 'screwflation' phenomenon?where

"If you place an order now, the wait time will be around 50 minutes." On the afternoon of April 13, at House of Shinsegae Cheongdam in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the food and beverage (F&B) brand 'Twelve' still had dozens of customers waiting, even though the lunchtime rush had long passed. The price for a single smoothie, the signature menu item, was well over 20,000 won, but there were no customers turning away. People were seen holding their drinks, taking certification photos with their smartphones, or glancing at their queue tickets and accepting the wait. That same day, the CU convenience store located at the headquarters of BGF Retail in Samseong-dong, Seoul, was crowded with customers eager to buy a 3,000-won smoothie from a vending machine. This smoothie, made by placing frozen fruit into the vending machine and completed in just one minute, has become explosively popular as a value-for-money beverage since its debut last June. Yoo, an office worker in his 30s, said, "I really enjoyed