안녕하세요! Move over Abercrombie and Hollister: a new brand is set to enter the US market and compete for the top position in the "casual luxury" market. South Korean brand, Who.A.U (short for "who are you") has had major success at home, boasting 50 stores nationwide and plans to expand into other Asian markets. Their brand is as clearly defined as you can get, complete with sun-kissed, attractive blondes lazing by ocean scenes and looks of passion in the model's faces. Who.A.U offers many of the same product categories as Hollister and is similar in price point. The question remains however, will Americans accept a new player in the market and more importantly would body-conscious 14 year olds buy clothes from a Korean retailer?
My guess is most likely no, but Who.A.U seems to have already solved that issue. When asked, a friend from Seoul, Korea exclaimed, "It's not an American brand??" Yes, even a native, fashion-forward Korean had no idea; which speaks volumes about Who.A.U's branding strategy and their attention to consumer wants. They are aware that people from their domestic market (Koreans) buy a lot of Abercrombie and Hollister apparel when they visit the US and that a certain segment of the market was missing. Also, Abercrombie and Hollister have no operations in Asia, and have been slow in reacting to growth potential in the Korean and Chinese markets.
Who.A.U has reacted, and fast. Their plans of expansion are funded by their deep-pocketed parent company, and they show no signs of slowing down. However, the US market is very fragmented and vastly different from Korean consumers, making Who.A.U's entrance into the market challenging. From what I have observed, young fashion-conscious teens in Asia, namely Korea, enjoy international fashion, accepting and buying brands originating anywhere from Italy to Japan. Kids in the US (on average) do not have the same international exposure, and likely do not have the same understanding of other cultures. Capturing American teens could therefore be an uphill battle, but if a Korean retailer can brand itself so "American/California" that a native didn't know otherwise, then maybe they have a shot. Best of luck to you Who.A.U, with your excellent brand strategy and marketing you have the skills needed to adapt your brand to an international market.
미국에서 성공하기를 바랍니다!
[hope you succeed in the US!]
-As a US consumer, would you think this was a Korean brand?
Who.A.U website: http://www.whoau.com/
-For CARS/RCS students, what do you think about the Korean market in terms of growth/market potential in the apparel industry?
-Jane Brownfield
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2 comments:
When I check this message on your blog, I was surprised because the message contains Korean characters in the first and last part of them. Can you understand that?
Actually, I do not have much information about how much the brand was launched and the stage of the brand in the U.S. However, I know situation and value of that Who.A.U brand in Korea. The brand is offering by an E-Land company, which is a big company in Asia with stable finance. I think that have some creative marketing strategies to be success in the U.S. market because the E-Land was achieved success in Korea also with some great marketing strategy. In addition, I think that can be affordable to the teenage Americans with lower price than Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch with good quality. All products from the Who.A.U. brand are produced in Korea. That can be good quality of apparel and which can be satisfying the consumers. I cannot guaranty the success of the brand in the United States, but I think that they have chance to be succeed in the U.S. market.
Moreover, Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch are existed in Asian market already.
Yeah, I am able to read Korean because I know the alphabet, but I usually don't know what it means :) but in this case, I do know the Korean I typed-- Yes, E-Land I believe is like the 4th largest retailer in Korea, they are kind of like VF Corp in the sense that they buy and acquire brands but allow the original brand name to exist to remain the same in the eyes of the consumer. My boyfriend is from Seoul and just moved here about 3 months ago and has been helpful giving me an idea of what apparel demand is like in this emerging (but is pretty much developed) market. He didn't even know Who.A.U was a Korean brand, and had some interesting answers relating to brand awareness in this market. In general, most kids in Korea (more so with metropolitan kids) like or consider dressing well or being fashionable as important and view clothing differently than US consumers tend to.
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