CHARACTERISTICS OF MARKET IN KOREA

The Korean fashion market has evolved according to global fashion trends.
Young designers’ contemporary fashion brands are becoming popular amongst Korean working women. The number of select shops selling various foreign brands has increased rapidly over the past four or five years. A lot of local distributors, licensees and retailers are keen to import international fashion products from Italy, France, the US and the UK. Distribution channels have diversified, as demonstrated by various brand stores, flagship stores, traditional shopping districts and e-shopping malls. The Korean fashion industry has been hit by the effect of the global financial slowdown, like other markets. However, the Korean economy has recently shown positive signs of recovery, with a number of economic indicators improving. Large department stores keep expanding shopping space for imported apparel brands. Smaller department stores targeting middle-class consumers are also expanding; specialising in shops for imported goods. In fact, the country has seen a flood of popular foreign brands recently. Domestic fashion brands are on the brink of collapse against foreign brands’ aggressive advancement into market place. 

Statistics of Export and Import for Apparel

(excl. fashion accessories)

	Export	Changes (%) over the previous year	Import	Changes (%) over the previous year
2005	2.00	-17.9%	2.05	10%
2006	1.80	-10.1%	2.62	27.7%
2007	1.68	-6.4%	3.03	15.8%
2008	1.61	-4.1%	2.96	-2.3%*

                                                                                                 (Source: Korea International Trade Association)

                                                                          * The figure for 2008 was affected by the global economic downturn.

*Reference (www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk - Fashion market – South Korea)