South Korean duty-free retailer Lotte Duty Free took part in the business-to-business fashion event Coterie New York last week and helped drum up 50 export contracts for K-fashion brands during the exhibition period.

Lotte Duty Free CEO Kim Joo-nam was at the fashion fair, which was held from February 22-24, almost a week after New York Fashion Week which, this year, took place from February 9-14. At Coterie, the ‘Hi Seoul’ showroom gave a platform to several K-fashion labels at the event where more than 1,000 booths showcased women’s fashion from around the world.

The event is visited by fashion distributors from North America, Asia, and Europe with leading retail buyers from the United States attending including the likes of Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, Kith, and Saks Firth Avenue.

Lotte operated a joint booth with the Hi Seoul showroom (see image above) which was supported by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Among the K-fashion brands that participated were C-Zann E, Fleno, MA&ME, and TinaBlossom.

The retailer is using Coterie as a springboard to other shows and exhibitions to raise awareness of Korean domestic fashion brands abroad. Nam Gung-pyo, head of the company’s new growth division, said: “Lotte Duty Free will actively work towards promoting overseas channels for various domestic brands.”

As well as fashion fairs, the retailer is also looking to showrooms and pop-ups. In a statement, Lotte Duty Free said: “We plan to continue pioneering K-fashion sales channels by utilizing local manpower at 14 branches in six overseas countries.”

The duty-free retailer—which has embarked on an internationalization strategy in recent years—is also looking to broker transactions between global buyers and K-fashion suppliers. The company has a good knowledge of the K-fashion market and can rely on its strong product sourcing capabilities and distribution network to ensure a ready-made supply chain for startup fashion labels that might lack any expertise here.

A multilateral approach

The aim for Lotte is to propel Korean fashion into the global market as a matter of national pride as well as support government export initiatives. The strategy will be to secure overseas buyers directly by using local experts at Lotte Duty Free’s 14 locations in six overseas countries, among them Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam. Raising brand awareness through Lotte’s online and offline channels will also be part of the campaign.

K-fashion is going global on the coattails of K-pop and K-drama, the cultural phenomena that have swept through many parts of the world. Just as Lotte Duty Free is taking K-fashion to the wider world, so music and entertainment bible Billboard, owned by Penske Media, is expanding its footprint in the Asian marketplace with the launch of Billboard Korea in partnership with Global Entertainment Media Group (GEMG).

This spring, the title is scheduled to launch with a website and digital platform ahead of publishing its first issue with a dedicated focus on the vibrant K-music scene. The highly anticipated Billboard K Vol.1 is scheduled to be released in June. As well as dissecting the K-pop scene, Billboard Korea will have a role in promoting K-culture according to Yuna Kim, the chair of GEMG, and, inevitably, that will include K-fashion.

Government deal

Last year, Lotte Duty Free signed a memorandum of understanding with the Seoul metropolitan government to identify and promote promising K-brands and then develop them overseas. In Tokyo, the retailer has created a dedicated ‘Seoul Fashion Week’ hall in its large Ginza downtown store where a variety of K-fashion is showcased.

Lotte’s new-growth unit, led by Gung-pyo, is a business division whose main aim is to accelerate Lotte Duty Free’s international ambitions to become a leading global travel retailer. In October 2023, the company opened Korea’s first duty-free showroom—LDF House—collaborating with various brands including Simi Haze Beauty, Janmang Loopy, and Mediheal.

The carrot to pull Seoul’s tourist shoppers in Myeong-dong district inside the multi-floor pop-up (until March 31) is a high-profile space dedicated to K-pop boy-band NCT Dream. Special sets and discount promotions are other lures, but to make physical purchases, consumers have to go to Lotte’s department store nearby or order online.