The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Following last week’s deal in which Naver and Shinsegae bought around $221 worth of the other firm’s shares, the South Korean retail group and tech giant will unveil a luxury shopping platform this June or July, The Korea Times reports.
While the link up could help streamline Shinsegae’s logistics operations and boost gross merchandise volume, Naver is betting on its partner’s luxury credentials to strengthen its advertising, e-commerce and fintech services, according to the report. The two players are also reportedly in talks to fuse their membership systems.
The news comes hot on the heels of local e-commerce giant Coupang’s $3.5 billion US IPO as well as reports that Shinsegae is among the potential buyers of eBay’s Korean business. Shinsegae subsidiary Shinsegae International is the country’s largest importer of luxury brands, which could set it up to become the South Korean market’s leading online vendor for premium goods as shopping continues to shift online post-pandemic. Despite Coupang’s size, it has yet to stock top luxury brands; meanwhile, rival retail group Lotte is struggling to keep up with digitally savvy rivals.
Christine Edman, executive officer of Japanese e-commerce site Zozo, talks about what makes the country’s consumers tick, and how the fashion landscape is set to shift in the years ahead.
People of Indian and Pakistani heritage are critical to the UAE’s fashion sector, leading billion-dollar retail empires, trading textiles and jewellery and stitching garments for Middle Eastern brands.
Influencer Irene Kim and V&A curator Rosalie Kim join Chanel executive Yana Peel to chart South Korea’s rise to global creative juggernaut.
BoF sits down with Zainab Abdulrazzaq, founder of 3oud.com and organiser of the Oud Fashion Talks, to discover the next steps for the event, designed to cement Kuwait’s place on the international fashion map.