사진 확대
In early September, a fashion brand store in Tokyo, Japan, opened a pop-up store in Seoul. I was invited and heard an interesting story. The brand is run independently by a team leader who has experience in a large editorial store in Tokyo, who has worked at the company for 12 years and said, “I think I’ve realized how to win the hearts of customers.”
Realized, his operation plan was a completely reserved clothing store. At offline stores, you have to go at the time you made a reservation in advance to see the real thing and buy clothes. You can’t buy a large amount for the ‘resell’. That’s a significant increase in the purchase hurdles, and the brand’s Tokyo store reservations are now months full. The brand pop-up event in Seoul was also a small topic for those involved.
My mind began to shake as I listened to the story. In fact, I only went to say hello, but when I heard the explanation that ‘clothes that can only be bought here now’, I thought, ‘Shall I touch it?’ I had a desire to buy it, but when I asked, it was already sold a lot, so my size was not left. I managed to buy clothes of my size, feeling like I was swept away by the current of desire.
On the way back, the memory of shopping last summer came back. July 26 Kanye West Incheon performance. Even when the performance began, the crowd in front of the store selling clothing, the “official goods,” remained. How do you know that is because I gave up some of the performances there and was in line to buy clothes. The ‘official goods’ could only be bought on the spot by the person who purchased the tickets for the show. As expected, the purchase hurdles are high. As I missed the show quite a bit because I was buying clothes, I felt pathetic for myself, and I wondered what a desire to consume was.
In the 21st century of polarization, the difficulty of consumption is also polarized. There is a world where you can buy all kinds of things on a mobile device on the same day, and there is a world where you have to break through all kinds of competition to buy one thing. What are the preconditions for a dream-like business that attracts customers even though they say they won’t sell it. It’s “prediction.” The condition of envy may be an ambiguous factor, such as an atmosphere, but in the end, there is quality in its roots. Many overlook, the basis of Rolex or Hermes is quality. Their products are stronger than those of other companies. So even if it becomes a ‘vintage’, the quality is still there.
Words are easy and reality is difficult. If you stick to quality, you can end your business even though you have to make a profit or loss quarter. Therefore, it is life’s attitude rather than business strategies to hustle purchasing or focus on quality. The aforementioned reason why Tokyo’s fashion brands insist on the showroom system is not just to control purchases and ignite people’s minds. They are trying to slowly explain what they have made with sincerity and inform customers.
A representative was also at the site of the pop-up store. I asked him the secret of his success. “It’s a belief in good things and in one’s senses,” he replied. For him, business would be the pursuit of this personal philosophy. I think the more you live, the more you eat and live, the more you realize the philosophy of your life. Why do we make money. Why do you work. What do you want to have. It’s a question of life that things that are sold without being sold.
[PARK CHAN YONG editor/columnist]
AloJapan.com