~30min talk

made in 2018, reheated for 2023

Focus

  • โœจ Experiential retail
  • ๐ŸŒ Offline / Online retail
Guessing game:
logo โ†’ name โ†’ 7 images + 1 video
????????

๊น€ํ•œ๊ตญ Kim Han-kook

โ€œeyewear was all about the Western facial structureโ€
โ€œBy owning the factory, we can maintain high quality with a cheaper price and control the shipping,โ€
โ€œHere, having a small face is the biggest compliment,โ€ Kim says. โ€œThere were no competitors for oversize glasses, which make heads look smaller.โ€
first contact with brand:
โ€œNobody understands we are a sunglasses companyโ€
โ€œWe donโ€™t push sales. We leave customers alone and let them do what they came to do: experience our art and look at our sunglasses.โ€
โ€œI wanted the products to look as if they were being exhibitedโ€
influencers fit
Results?
By 2014, the company was generating $40 million in revenue (approx. 70 percent of the business is direct, with 30 percent coming from wholesale partners.)
Sales were mostly from Korea and China.
In 2017, the firm posted 170 million USD in sales and 51 million USD in operating profit.

2016-2018 investments:

  • New vertical, cosmetics (Tamburins)
  • Gentle Monster Robotics Division
  • First European store

Recap

  • โœจ Experiential retail: โœ”๏ธ
  • ๐Ÿคณ selling to: Korean women in their ~30s
  • ๐ŸŒ Offline / Online retail: โœ”๏ธ (Quantum space โ†’ repeat visits)
Lockdown project: digital eyewear (Instagram face filters)
Collaborations with international artists: Daisy Collingridge, Damien Blottier, Esmay Wagmans, Ikeuchi, Liz Sexton, Lyle Remir and Shalva Nikvashvili and James T Merry (worked with Bjรถrk on artworks and headpieces during her Vulnicura and Cornucopia era)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDdnm0olbvY/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CDdnpzFF7Jg/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CDlQx7TFuTG/
โ€œThere is a limit to differentiating the brand when running the business online without offline spaces. Marketing using physical spaces, which allow for different types of experiences and opportunities, is a central trend in the fashion industry,โ€ said Ku Jin-young, manager at Gentle Monster.

Growing their demo - Millenials

  • Influenced by social media
  • More likely to buy luxury goods
  • Happy to try something new
  • Value rich shareable experiences over owning โ€˜thingsโ€™

Sources: The Economist, Forbes, Davidson Branding

From Quantum space to Haus Dosan
before
after
Weird cakes
"Analog-digital futures"

collabs as the new engine:

  • 2 collabs during 2011-2020
  • 14 collabs during 2020-now
Example: Jentle Garden
Jentle Garden LA
Results?
Sales grew YoY throughout the pandemic(now: ~USD243M)
Headcount grew YoY (now: 700)

(Source: Kim was interviewed by Fortune Korea last Oct)

Latest collabs

latest collabs: Tamburins x Jennie, Nudake x NewJeans, Gentle Monster x Maison margiela

GENTLE MONSTER SETS A NEW BENCHMARK FOR EXPERIENTIAL RETAIL WITH A MEGA-FLAGSHIP IN BEIJING FRAME
SKP-S

Recap

  • โœจ Experiential retail: โœ”๏ธ (same strategy but now with robots)
  • ๐Ÿคณ selling to: Millenials (Happy to try something new, shareable experiences over owning โ€˜thingsโ€™)
  • ๐ŸŒ Offline / Online retail: โœ”๏ธ (Quantum space changed every 25 days, Haus Dosan with every collab)
Sources (Accessed: April 2018)

FYI: Experientail retail and gaming