Gabriela Hearst, Veronica Beard, Toteme to launch in Korea

US designer brands Gabriela Hearst and Veronica Beard, as well as Swedish premium Toteme are set to open exclusive stores in South Korea to allure female fashionistas in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Handsome Corp., a fashion unit of South Korea’s major retailer Hyundai Department Store Group, said on Thursday it inked exclusive distribution deals with those brands.

Handsome launched an exclusive boutique of Gabriela Hearst on the day for the first time in Asia at the main branch of Hyundai Department Store Co. in Apgujeong, Seoul, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country. The department store is scheduled to set up such boutiques for Toteme at branches in Gangnam, Seoul’s upscale and modern center, in January and February next year while opening a shop only for Veronica Beard in March at a branch in Pangyo, the so-called Silicon Valley of South Korea.

“It is the first time for the three brands to open exclusive stores in South Korea, although they have been sold at multi-brand shops,” said a Handsome official.

STRONG LUXURY, PREMIUM ITEM SALES DESPITE WEAK ECONOMY

Gabriela Hearst, creative director of French luxury brand Chloe who founded the brand under her own name in 2015, is popular among global celebrities and influencers for its Nina Bag and Demi Bag lineups. Veronica Beard with some 20 branches in major cities in the US such as New York is famous among female office workers with its Dickey Jackets.

Toteme, which was launched by Swedish fashion blogger and fashion journalist Elin King in 2014, features a premium, modern and minimal Nordic design.

Sales of luxury and premium items are expected to remain healthy in South Korea despite an economic slowdown. Customers, especially millennials, are likely to keep seeking those products for psychological satisfaction while reducing overall spending, analysts said.

The total revenue of the country’s top three department stores – Lotte Department Store, Shinsegae Inc. and Hyundai – rose 6% in 2009 when the global financial crisis hit the country, although the economy grew a mere 0.3%.

HANDSOME TO MORE THAN DOUBLE SALES OF OVERSEAS BRANDS

Handsome aims to more than double sales from overseas fashion brands to some 1 trillion won ($767 million) in the next five years by doubling the number of foreign brands to about 20 by the second half of 2023.

The company also plans to expand sales channels for the existing overseas brands. It will open more stores for the Swedish designer brand Our Legacy launched in South Korea earlier this year at Hyundai Department Store branches.

“We aim to provide new experiences and differentiated values to customers along with our own domestic brands such as Time, Mine and System by discovering overseas brands that can lead the global fashion trends,” said another Handsome official.

Write to Jong-Kwan Park at pjk@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.