Fashion & Textile Research Journal (한국의류산업학회지)

The Society of Fashion and Textile Industry (한국의류산업학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

New Marketing Strategies for Fast Fashion Brands in South Korea: An Exploration of Consumer's Purchasing Experiences

  • Kim, Eun Hee (Dept. of Clothing and Textiles, Hannam University)
  • Received : 2018.07.19
  • Accepted : 2018.12.14
  • Published : 2018.12.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Global fast fashion brands have been popular and most of them have entered the Korean market. With their success, Korean apparel companies launched domestic fast fashion brands; however, recently they have become fiercely competitive, and consumers are demanding better design and quality and cheaper prices than before. The purpose of this study is to explore consumer purchasing behavior of the global as well as domestic fast fashion brands sold in Korea and to suggest marketing strategies for the brands sold in Korea. The study includes interviewing 61 Korean consumers to ask about their purchasing behavior and experiences. This study found four themes from these in-depth interviews: 1) demand of product glocalization which considers both globalization and localization for better style, quality, and assortment plan, 2) satisfaction with the reasonable price range of fast fashion brands but dissatisfaction with price discrimination among countries, 3) importance of easy, comfortable, and convenient accessibility to fast fashion brands, and 4) preference for good brand reputation related to corporate social responsibility(CSR) and nationality. From these four themes, this study developed the four elements of the marketing mix: product, price, accessibility, and reputation to adapt to a new marketing environment that emphasizes the development of information technology, consumer-centric marketing, and corporate ethics. The findings of this research could contribute useful information to both global and domestic fashion companies as well as consumers.

Keywords

References

  1. 'A shopping paradise under your feet, Seoul's top underground shopping malls'. (n.d.). In Korea Tourism Organization. Retrieved August 8, 2017, from http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=2021834
  2. Booms, B. H., & Bitner, M. J. (1981). Marketing strategies and organization structures for service firms. In Donnelly, J., & George,W. R. (Ed.), Marketing of services (pp. 47-52). Chicago, IL: American Marketing Association.
  3. Borden, N. H. (1964). The concept of the marketing mix. Journal of Advertising Research, 4(2), 2-7.
  4. Brakus, J. J., Schmitt, B. H., & Zarantonello, L. (2009). Brand experience:What is it? How is it measured? Does it affect loyalty?. Journal of Marketing, 73(3), 52-68. doi:10.1509/jmkg.73.3.52
  5. Brakus, J. J., Schmitt, B. H., & Zhang, S. (2008). Experiential attributes and consumer judgments. In B. H. Schmitt & D. L. Rogers (Ed.), Handbook on Brand and Experience Management. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.
  6. Business Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2017 from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/glocalization.html
  7. Cachon, G., & Swinney, R. (2011). The value of fast fashion: Quick response, enhanced design, and strategic consumer behavior. Management Science, 57(4), 778-795. doi:10.1287/mnsc.1100.1303
  8. Cho, H. J. (2015, April 22). 패션 과잉시대 '쓰레기 유발자' 오명을 벗어라 [Take off dishonor of 'polluter' in overflowing fashion era]. The Hankyoreh. Retrieved April 1, 2017 from http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/culture_general/687963.html
  9. Choe, S. (2006, May 22). Wal-Mart selling stores and leaving South Korea, New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2017 from https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/business/worldbusiness/23shop.html
  10. Choi, T. M., Hui, C. L., Liu, N., Ng, S. F., & Yu, Y. (2014). Fast fashion sales forecasting with limited data and time. Decision Support Systems, 59(1), 84-92. doi:10.1016/j.dss.2013.10.008
  11. Clifford, S. (2012, May 22). As U.S. retailers retreat, a Japanese chain sees an opening. The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2017 from https://www.cnbc.com/id/47539822
  12. Creswell, J. W. (2012). Qualitative inquiry & research design:Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks:Sage.
  13. Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks:Sage.
  14. Dongdaemoon Fashion Tourism Zone. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.dft.co.kr
  15. Fast Retailing Co., LTD. (2015). Retrieved December 2, 2016 from http://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ir/direction/position.html
  16. Fast Retailing Co., LTD. (2017). Retrieved April 15, 2018 from http://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ir/library/pdf/ar2017_en.pdf
  17. Ferdows, K., Lewis, M. A., & Machuca, J. A. D. (2004). Rapid-fire fulfillment. Harvard Business Review, 82(11), 104-110.
  18. Fickenscher, L. (2016, June 20). Uniqlo's struggles cause fashion chain to close stores. New York Post. Retrieved 2016 from http://nypost.com/2016/06/20/uniqlos-struggles-cause-fashion-chain-to-closestores/
  19. Financial Supervisory Service. (n.d.). Data retrieval: Data base Repository of Korea's Coporate Filings, Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART) [Data file]. Retrieved November 20, 2018 from http://dart.fss.or.kr/
  20. Gandolfi, F., & Strach, P. (2009). Retail internationalization: Gaining insight from the Wal-Mart experience in South Korea. Review of International Comparative Management, 10(1), 187-199.
  21. Ghemawat, P., & Nueno, J. L. (2003). ZARA: Fast fashion. HBS No. 9-703-497, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.
  22. Gillian, S., & Cassell, C. (1998). Qualitative methods and analysis in organizational research: A practical guide. London, England: Sage.
  23. Goi, C. L. (2009). A review of marketing mix: 4Ps or more?. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 1(1), 2-15. doi:10.5539/ijms.v1n1p2
  24. Gonzales-Rodriguez, A. (2015, June 30). South Korea, US, and China:Where Zara's prices double. Fashion United. Retrieved May 1, 2017 from https://fashionunited.uk/news/retail/south-korea-us-andchina-where-zara-s-prices-double/2015063016892
  25. The H&M Group. (2018). Annual report 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2018 from https://about.hm.com/content/dam/hmgroup/groupsite/documents/masterlanguage/Annual%20Report/Annual%20Report%202017.pdf
  26. Hang, J. H. (2015, April 12). [TF탐사] 日 유니클로, 韓 매출 1조 눈앞...토종 SPA 반격 [One trillion won income in Korea of Japanese brand, Uniqlo, is close at hand]. Biz Focus Economic. Retrieved May 1, 2017 from http://news.tf.co.kr/read/economy/1512541.htm
  27. Heuvel, J. (1993). Diensten marketing (services marketing). Groningen, The Netherlands: Wolters-Noordhoff.
  28. Hines, T., & Bruce, M. (2001). Fashion marketing; contemporary issues. Oxford, England: Butterworth-Heinemann.
  29. Horesh, N., Kim, H. J., Mauch, P., & Sullivan, J. (2014). Is my rival's rival a friend? Popular third-party perceptions of territorial disputes in East Asia. Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies, 32(1), 5-25. https://doi.org/10.22439/cjas.v32i1.4594
  30. Kim, H. J., & Han, S. L. (2017). Analysis of the effect of brand experiences on brand attachment and brand loyalty in SPA Brand: Focused on the moderating effects of perceived control and consumer need for uniqueness. The Academy of Customer Satisfaction Management, 19(1), 123-147.
  31. Kim, H. J. (2015, June 4). "컵홀더로 변신한 청바지"...유니클로.엔제리너스 손잡다 ["Cup-holder transformed from jeans"... Uniqlo and Angel-in-us joined]. Asia Economy Daily. Retrieved January 10, 2017 from http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2015060411012759683
  32. Kim, J. H., & Lee, S. H. (2014). Business strategy of fast fashion: A case study of Zara. Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles, 38(2), 175-190. doi:10.5850/JKSCT.2014.38.2.175
  33. Kotler, P. (1984). Marketing management: Analysis, planing, and control (5th ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.
  34. Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2014). Principles of marketing (15th ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.
  35. Lauterborn, B. (1990). New marketing litany. Advertising Age, 61(41), 26-26.
  36. Lee, G. W. (2015, April 10). 박성경 이서현, 한국 SPA의 세계적 브랜드 만들기에 도전 [Challenge by Sung Kyung Park and Suh Hyun Lee to make global Korea SPA brands]. Business Post. Retrieved from http://m.businesspost.co.kr/BP?command=article_view&num=11368
  37. Lee, R. (2013, October 28). Fashion firms target SPA brands. The Korea Times. Retrieved January 10, 2017 from http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2014/07/123_145097.html
  38. Levy, M., & Weitz, B. A. (2008). Retailing management (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
  39. Lopez, C., & Fan, Y. (2009). Internationalisation of the Spanish fashion brand Zara. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 13(2), 279-296. doi:10.1108/13612020910957770
  40. Mazaira, A., Gonzalez, E., & Avendano, R. (2003). The role of market orientation on company performance through the development of sustainable competitive advantage: the Inditex-Zara case. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 21(4), 220-229. doi:10.1108/02634500310480103
  41. McCarthy, E. J. (1964). Basic marketing: A managerial approach. Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin.
  42. McGuire, S. (2001). Fast fashion: How a secretive Spanish tycoon has defied the postwar tide of globalization, bringing factory jobs from Latin America and Asia back to continental Europe. Newsweek International, 17 September, p. 36.
  43. Min, D. H. (2014, February). 잘 나가는 SPA브랜드, 백화점서 쫓겨난 사연은... 롯데百 안양점, 평당효율 낮은 '자라' 철수키로, 매장만 크고 돈 못버는 SPA 구조조정 [The reasons great SPA brands were withdrawn from department stores... Lotte Department Store in Anyang decided to withdraw Zara which has low efficiency per pyeong (3.3058m2), restructuring SPA stores which have large spaces and low income]. Money Today. Retrieved June 10, 2016 from http://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2014020615292678655
  44. Oliver, R. L. (1997). Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
  45. Park, H. (2015). Antecedents and consequences of brand love for fast fashions. Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles, 39(5), 728-744. doi:10.5850/JKSCT.2015.39.5.728
  46. Park, Y. S. (2016, December 19). 유니클로 너마저.. 국내진출 11년 성장세 꺾였다 [Even Uniqlo's growth was weaken]. Seoul Economy Daily. Retrieved May 10, 2017 from https://www.sedaily.com/NewsView/1L5B1CNSNN
  47. Polkinghorne, D. E. (1989). Phemomenological research methods. In Valle, R.S. & Halling, S. (Ed.), Existential-phnomenological perspectives in psychology (pp. 41-60). New York, NY: Plenum Press.
  48. Reicheld, F. (1996). The loyalty effect; The hidden force behind growth, profits, and lasting value. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
  49. Robertson, R. (1995). Glocalization: Time-space and homogeneity-heterogeneity. Global modernities, 2, 25-45.
  50. Royo-Vela, M., & Casamassima, P. (2011). The influence of belonging to virtual brand communities on consumers' affective commitment, satisfaction and word-of-mouth advertising: The ZARA case. Online Information Review, 35(4), 517-542. doi:10.1108/14684521111161918
  51. Schlosser, K. (2017, February 15). Amazon tops Harris Poll for corporate reputation, again, and Jeff Bezos emails 'kudos and congrats'. Geekwire. Retrieved April 1, 2017 from https://www.geekwire.com/2017/amazon-tops-harris-poll-corporate-reputation-jeff-bezos-emails-kudos-congrats/
  52. Shen, B. (2014). Sustainable fashion supply chain: Lessons from H& M. Sustainability, 6(9), 6236-6249. doi:10.3390/su6096236
  53. Shen, D. (2008). What's happening in China's textile and clothing industries?. Clothing & Textiles Research Journal, 26(3), 203-222. doi:10.1177/0887302X07313941
  54. Statista. (n.d.). Number of stores of The Gap, Inc. worldwide from 2010 to 2015, by store brand and region. Retrieved January 10, 2017 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/242596/number-ofstores-of-the-gap-inc-by-store-brand-and-region/
  55. The Gap, Inc. (2009). Annual report. Retrieved June 1, 2016 from https://www.marketscreener.com/GAP-10697617/pdf/164340/Gap_SEC-Filing-10K.pdf
  56. The Gap, Inc. (2018). Annual report. Retrieved November 14, 2018 from http://investors.gapinc.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=111302&p=irolreportsAnnual
  57. The Inditex Group. (2018). Annual report 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2018 from https://static.inditex.com/annual_report_2017/assets/pdf/memoria_en.pdf
  58. Thompson, C. J., & Arsel, Z. (2004). The Starbucks brandscape and consumers'(anticorporate) experiences of glocalization. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(3), 631-642. doi:10.1086/425098
  59. Tokatli, N. (2008). Global sourcing: insights from the global clothing industry-The case of Zara, a fast fashion retailer. Journal of Economic Geography, 8(1), 21-38. doi:10.1093/jeg/lbm035
  60. Wilk, R. (1995). Learning to be local in belize: Global systems of common difference. In Miller, D (Ed.), Worlds apart: Modernity through the prism of the local (pp. 110-133). London, England: Routledge.