I was in Seoul, South Korea last week for an innovation workshop. It had nothing to do with coffee, but whilst there I couldn’t fail to notice the huge number of coffee shops. One figure I saw referenced 75,000 coffee shops in the country, around one for every 700 people. The number of stores has […]
Is there a tipping point when Koreans say they’ve drunk too much latte or espresso? Read More »
Last week I spent 3 days in Seoul. Although I have been to Korea many times, this was my first visit since the COVID pandemic eased. Seoul was very busy and even though it was November, and hardly peak season, bustling with visitors. I have done quite a few projects in Korea over the years.
Musinsa is a Korean ecommerce unicorn that runs an online shopping mall, a fashion magazine and invests behind young designers who want to enter the fashion industry. Its gross sales are said to exceed Won 2.3T ($1.8b) In Korea there are a range of EC platforms, all competing on the same turf, including Bungaejanter, Karrot
Love the look! Korea’s best selling fashion unicorn Musinsa eyes global stardom Read More »
With revenues exceeding $12bn (2020) and a market share exceeding 25% in Korea, Coupang is no minnow. The company operates a marketplace for home goods, apparel, beauty, electronics and a fresh business (called Rocket Fresh). Like Amazon, it also has an advertising business which has blossomed spectacularly. The only sour note is the share price
Korean EC giant Coupang struggles to shake broken IPO moniker Read More »
For those who live in Asia-Pacific, it’ll be no surprise to learn that Korea is the world’s second largest beauty exporter. Sales exceeded $6.1b in 2020, larger than Japan or the US. The country has industry leader France (exports $8.9b) in its sights. Korea’s beauty industry is helped by its proximity to China which last
The secret to Korean beauty is known only to Cosmax Read More »
