The opportunity:
Korean online shopping malls are unable to fully cater to their larger, global audience despite their increase in popularity abroad because of the exclusive niche they target.
Testing the who:
Korean culture is on the rise outside of the aforementioned country; especially the fashion. So with a growing population of individuals interested in Korean fashion are mainly affected. Not all, but there is a majority who cannot access Korean online malls because the malls do not do international shipping, allow foreigners to make accounts, do not have a diverse range of clothing sizes, and have very stereotypical models that aren't very much representative of diversity.
Testing the what:
Many Korean online shopping malls are a challenge because they are not very mainstream. Online shopping malls are a popular thing that many people start, but their spectrum of audience is only limited to those living in Korea. There are very few online shopping malls that cater to buyers outside of Korea. However, even then, the prices for shipping are expensive and if a customer buys clothing that does not fit well, it takes forever to get a refund and the entire return policies are tedious.
Testing the why:
The main issue I think this problem exists is because of how small scale many of these online shopping malls are. While there are many of these online malls, there is a limited Korean population in Korea, making it harder for every shopping mall to succeed. And because of this competition, it is difficult for these malls to branch out to other countries because they lack the resources and monetary supply to do so.
Summary of interviews:
A common aspect all the interviewees mentioned was the lack of diversity in these shopping malls. While it is difficult to find a Korean online shopping mall that ships abroad, if they do find one, it is difficult to determine what size to buy and difficult to determine how it will look on them. While many Western clothing brands are on top of the game when it comes to diversity in modeling and making clothes, Korean online shopping malls are still stuck to stereotypical models being cute, petite and skinny or being handsome, tall and lean and manufactures clothes according to this idea. This makes it harder for those buying to get a grip or let alone an idea of what to buy.
I think that your idea is great. Incorporating different fashion styles would be impactful on America especially if it is introduced through Fashion Weeks first. It would have to be properly marketed and streamlined into the market to hint that people need this type of clothing in their wardrobes and be able to wear it on a day-to-day basis as well as at night. I think advertising is key for this idea because the fact that it is already different is great, but people need to be convinced that they have to buy it.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting need to point out. I am specially interested since I am currently taking marketing and we are talking about segmenting customers to better cater to fulfill their similar need. In this case it would be interesting to study who, besides Koreans, would most enjoy Korean fashion. What age demographics, or what trends do such people carry in their lives.
ReplyDeleteHey, Challet!
ReplyDeleteI like your post! This is an interesting problem I was previously unaware of. I'm curious if there's an opportunity for an American firm to set up contracts with one of these Korean online malls to guarantee them sales for certain sizes. The American firm could then market to people of different backgrounds and sizes much more effectively. The American firm could also standardize the sizes with American sizes.
The opportunity for such profit could be enough to convince the Korean firms to participate in such a joint venture.
Additionally, American designers may be able to design similar products and market them to Americans as well as the global population. However, that may be difficult since people may want Korean style made and designed in Korea.
Great post! I'm interested in seeing what you come up with.