Global manufacturing and retail integrated (SPA) fashion brands are once again expanding extra-large offline stores in Korea. In the past, they unveiled large stores in areas with heavy foot traffic; recently, locations have shifted to hubs that can capture both foreign tourist demand and brand-experience effects.
According to the retail and fashion industry on the 10th, the Japanese SPA brand UNIQLO will open the country's largest UNIQLO Myeong-dong store on the 22nd in the Le Méridien Seoul Myeong-dong building in Jung District, Seoul. It is a global flagship store (flagship store) spanning 985 pyeong from the first to the third floor above ground. It plans to showcase product lines covering women, men and infants.
UNIQLO previously operated a large store on Gangnam-daero in Seoul, but closed the Gangnam store in 2020, when it began restructuring domestic outlets due to the pandemic and the fallout from the No Japan boycott of Japanese products. For the same reason, the Myeong-dong store also closed in January 2021. By choosing Myeong-dong over Gangnam, UNIQLO is returning to the Myeong-dong commercial district after about four years. UNIQLO currently says it has no plans to open a new store in the Gangnam commercial district. An UNIQLO official said, "Aside from the Myeong-dong store, there are no plans for additional flagship openings for the time being," adding, "There are currently no plans to open a store in the Gangnam commercial district."
The industry views UNIQLO's move as a "reselection of commercial district" rather than a simple opening. Myeong-dong is a representative tourist district with a high share of foreign visitors. As the global K-content boom has brought more foreign tourists and renewed vitality to Myeong-dong, the move is seen as an effort to establish a hub store targeting domestic and overseas customers at the same time. According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), about 18.9 million foreigners visited Korea last year, up 11.8% from the previous year.
A retail industry official said, "More consumers are buying clothes online, but you can't ignore the brand image projected by large stores in key districts. Beyond simple sales, the role of space for brand experience and engagement has grown important," adding, "For global brands, areas with heavy tourist inflows like Myeong-dong also carry strong symbolism."
This is not unique to UNIQLO. The Spanish SPA brand ZARA also reopened a refurbished flagship store in May last year at Myeong-dong Noon Square in Jung District, Seoul. The store also includes Zacaffe Seoul. Zacaffe Seoul is the fourth ZARA brand cafe in the world. Like UNIQLO, ZARA appears to be focusing on the Myeong-dong district to strengthen brand experience and stay-type consumption.
In addition, ZARA is moving its existing Gangnam Station store on Gangnam-daero to near Sinnonhyeon Station. The new store is set to open in August at the Toss Office building in front of Exit 7 of Sinnonhyeon Station. A ZARA official said, "This store is not a simple relocation but one applying a new concept," adding, "It will operate as the country's largest, from one level below ground to the third floor above ground."
The industry believes store location strategies are shifting away from expanding outlets in high-foot-traffic areas, as in the past, toward securing large spaces that can deliver customer dwell time and brand-experience elements. Recently, the Sinnonhyeon area has drawn attention as a suitable location to strengthen brand experience, as stay-type consumption has increased in connection with hotel and food and beverage (F&B) districts.
A fashion industry official said, "Recently, global SPA brands are operating symbolic hub stores intensively, rather than aggressively increasing the number of stores in key districts that used to have heavy foot traffic," adding, "There is a growing trend to strengthen brand experience." The official added, "Even for the same brand, location choices are changing depending on the core customer base and commercial-district strategy."
A retail industry official said, "As K-fashion and beauty gain global attention, Korea is emerging as a market that can gauge Asian consumer trends," adding, "Global brands are increasingly weighing the importance of hub stores where they can confirm brand experience and consumer response, rather than focusing solely on sales."