Shein’s first Seoul pop-up grabs attention of Korean fashion market

By Ko Dong-hwan

Shein’s first offline pop-up store in Korea, StyleInShein, has opened in Seoul’s trendy hotspot of Seongsu-dong, drawing attention from the country’s fashion industry, according to the Singapore-based global online fashion mall Monday.

Market experts, however, think that the move is unlikely to have a lasting impact on the market due to negative public reception toward the company. “C-commerce,” referring to online shopping platforms operated by companies in Chinese-speaking countries, has garnered a poor reputation in Korea, with issues such as counterfeit goods and safety hazards found in some of their products, including fashion items.

The store is scheduled to run through Sunday under its sales slogan, “Wear Your Wonderful.”

Half of the two-storied store’s ground shopping floor is dedicated to Kim You-jung, a Korean actor who models for Shein’s private brand Dazy. The enclosed section displayed items from the brand’s latest spring/summer collection, which were curated and worn by the celebrity.

Shein’s other sub-brands, including EZwear, ROMWE and Glowmode, are also featured in the store’s collection.

Most of the store items’ prices ranged between 10,000 won ($7.25) and 30,000 won, relatively affordable prices in the country’s fashion market. Affordable prices are Shein’s strength, according to the company. Its order-based manufacturing system reduces volumes of waste, stocked item and ultimately manufacturing cost, it said.

The store on Monday drew visitors despite the rainy weather. Some of the visitors were from out of the country.

Visitors to StyleInShein browse items at a section dedicated to actor Kim You-jung who models for Shein’s private brand Dazy, Monday. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan

“It’s an honor to have opened our first Korean pop-up in Seongsu, one of the fashion meccas in Korea,” a Shein official said. “We want to satisfy the needs of our customers and benefit all with the beauty of fashion.”

Bonnie Liu, a marketing official from Shein’s head office, said last month that Korea has been leading the global fashion, entertainment and culture industries and is the company’s key market.

“We’ll meet Koreans’ fashion and lifestyle needs with our high-quality, high-cost-effective products,” Liu said. “With Kim’s partnership with Dazy, we hope Korea’s fashion trends can spread worldwide through our online shopping channels.”

Market experts have speculated that Shein won’t be able to survive in Seongsu-dong, where many popular Korean fashion brands and offline shops for online platforms like Musinsa are wooing local hipsters. The fact that AliExpress and Temu, two C-commerce giants making great strides in the Korean market, have been held responsible for intellectual property theft and products containing cancerous chemicals has damaged public trust in Chinese goods.

An anonymous official from Korea’s fashion industry said that Chinese products “with their cheap prices and (low) quality won’t be able to make a dent in the Seongsu market.”

“It would’ve been different 10 years ago. But now, fashion consumers aren’t easily swayed by low prices,” he added.