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Small luxury, sexy and green items sell
June 24, 2009
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| By Lee Eun-joo The growing number of consumers spending money on themselves has inspired the new phrase, “For Me Jok,” according to Shinsegae Department Store, yesterday. The word jok means “tribe” in Korean. The phrase describes consumers who spend money on themselves and aren’t willing to cut back items they think will enhance their quality of life. A report released by the department store showed that consumption by this group increased its overall sales in the first half of the year to 11 percent on-year. In addition to using the new phrase used to describe consumers, the report categorizes their purchases as: “small luxury,” “sexy” and “green.” Sales of small luxury items such as watches, purses, bags and shoes increased 40 percent. In particular, male customers in their 30s were willing to spend on luxury watches by brands such as Breitling and Longines. Men’s luxury watch sales increased 70 percent on-year in the first half. Sales to men in their 30s increased from 10 percent to 13 percent on-year. Sales of luxury cosmetics brands also increased 38 percent. Specifically, sales of brands including La Mer and Kiehl’s doubled. In May, cosmetics sales reached 30 billion won ($23.2 million), the most in the department store’s history. And cosmetics sales increased from 6.9 percent last year to 9.4 percent this year. Meanwhile, it seems body-conscious consumers are investing in sexier clothing and organic products. Sales of 22-centimeter (8.6-inch) miniskirts increased 30 percent on-year, while sales of organic items increased 20 to 90 percent. Jang Jae-young from Shinsegae said the store had expected sales to decline given the state of the economy, but said that “department store sales saw a large increase based on consumers investing more in themselves.” The trend will continue into the latter half of the year, he added. By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr] |
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