South Korean fashion brands are featuring in an online pop-up store on regional sites of online fashion portal Zalora.
It’s all part of a concerted bid to expand recognition of Korean fashion bards across the broader Asia-Pacific region.
Launched in Singapore, the Premium Korean Fashion pop-up shop is open until October in Zalora sites in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to the officials at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) and the Korea Fashion Association.
Seventeen South Korean designer brands, which have been recognised for their competitiveness both at home and abroad, are showcasing their products on the pop-up store.
A launch ceremony was attended by some 80 Southeast Asian fashion journalists and so-called power bloggers. It marks South Korea’s first marketing activity targeting the entire Southeast Asian region.
At the event, Giulio Xiloyannis said there is growing interest in Korean fashion in Southeast Asia and that the opening of the pop-up store is not only a new attempt but also an important event for Zalora.
A Kotra official said the trade agency will step up efforts to gain access to major online portals in an effort to make inroads into regional markets.
“Southeast Asia is emerging as the next eCommerce market after China as youths account for a large portion of its population and regional economies are growing at a fast pace,” Lee Byung-woo, head of Kotra’s office in Kuala Lumpur. “Efforts will be made to help Korean brands gain a foothold there.”