• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1-14
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• 2008

The domestic handbag market has potential of growth - the key to protect this growing market from foreign makers is good design and better quality. 68 people(29.6%)out of 230 survey participants report 'to own 5 handbags', and the most popular(frequently reported) maker is 'MCM', owned by 49 participants(21.3%). 150 participants(65.2%) out of 230 total participants purchase at least one handbag a year, and 136 participants(59.7%) out of 230 spend between 110,000 and 200,000 Korean wons. 52 participants(22.6%) out of 230 own high-end handbags worth 500,000 Korean won or more. Among the high-end handbags, Louis Vuitton is the most popular, owned by 19 participants. The overall criteria in handbag purchase are 'color', 'price', 'pattern and logo', 'reputation', 'material', 'storage room', and 'size', in the descending order of importance. The most frequently desired benefit in handbag purchase is 'to stay through trends' i.e. not to go out of fashion too easily. The favored designs are made with rectangle shape with large width, soft material, attached handles, leather material, modern style. The most frequently cited reason to purchase a high-end brand item is 'because of high quality'.