Shoppers browse shelves at a Musinsa store in Seoul. Courtesy of Musinsa

International tourists packed Musinsa stores across Korea during the overlapping Japanese Golden Week and China’s Labor Day holidays, turning the fashion retailer’s offline locations into some of Seoul’s hottest shopping destinations.

Musinsa, the Korean fashion unicorn that has come to embody Seoul’s street style, said Friday that sales from foreign customers at 12 globally focused offline stores jumped more than 30 percent during the weeklong holiday period from April 29 through May 4, compared with the previous week.

The company analyzed stores operating in major shopping districts including Seongsu, Hongdae, Myeong-dong, Gangnam, Hannam and Busan’s Seomyeon area. The strongest growth came from Seongsu, where crowds of overseas tourists flooded into Musinsa Standard Seongsu and Musinsa Store Seongsu. Combined sales at the two locations climbed more than 41 percent from the prior week, the company said.

Foreign shoppers accounted for 53 percent of total sales at the 12 stores during the holiday stretch, surpassing spending by domestic customers.

At Musinsa Store Myeong-dong, foreign tourists generated more than 70 percent of total sales, while stores in Seongsu and Hannam also recorded foreign sales shares exceeding 60 percent.

The company said rising global interest in K-fashion and beauty products helped drive the surge, particularly among independent travelers seeking firsthand experiences of Korean fashion and lifestyle trends in neighborhoods like Seongsu.

Musinsa also rolled out promotional campaigns targeting overseas visitors during the holiday period. Through Saturday, the retailer is offering discounts and reward benefits for users of Japan’s fashion platform ZOZOTOWN at 15 stores nationwide.

For Chinese tourists, Musinsa partnered with WeChat Pay to provide instant discount coupons at 20 stores, aiming to increase purchases from international shoppers.

The company is also running its “On & Off Festival” through Saturday across all offline stores, offering discounted products, exclusive in-store coupons and cashback events.

Source: Korea Times News