Hyundai Department Store launches platform for K-fashion expansion

Shibuya Parco department store [HYUNDAI DEPARTMENT STORE]

Hyundai Department Store launched a service that connects Korean brands with overseas retailers, which it expects will propel the global expansion of Korean fashion brands.

Under the new service, called The Hyundai Global, the department store will select a number of domestic brands that it believes are attractive enough to enter its overseas retail partners, including Parco in Japan. The department store will negotiate on behalf of the selected brands.

Hyundai Department Store inks partnership with Thai mall group

"The Korean brands will gain a significant advantage in foreign expansion when they use our service since we negotiate with the foreign retailers on their behalf using our brand name," said a spokesperson for Hyundai Department Store.

Handling every aspect of the process, from location selection to negotiations with international retailers and inventory management, the brand anticipates cost reductions of over 30 percent compared to entry into the overseas market directly. It's a "win-win" even for global retailers as they can enhance their merchandise competitiveness through Hyundai Department Store's "validated" brands, it added.

Japan is the first target market for the platform, with Hyundai Department Store set to sign a business agreement with local retailer Parco in April. The inaugural pop-up store, featuring the Korean fashion brand Noice, will open at Shibuya Parco in Tokyo in May, with 11 additional brands such as Emis, Matinkim and Mischief to follow.

This initiative builds upon Hyundai Department Store's collaboration with the Thai retail group Siam Piwat to operate a specialized Korean content space within its malls in Thailand. Plans are underway to introduce The Hyundai Global business model to other prominent foreign shopping malls in China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Europe.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]