~30min talk

made in 2018, reheated for 2023

Focus

✨ Experiential retail
🌐 Offline / Online retail

한국어의 특성/브랜드의 이미지 이야기

유행의 선도자/인구가 많은 서울

Guessing game:

logo → name → 7 images + 1 video

퀴즈 시작

Shanghai

Hong Kong

Los Angeles

London

New York

마지막 기회

안경

????????

왜 그래? PNL이 괮않아>?

김한국 Kim Han-kook

돈이 없어서 다윗과 골리앗의 싸움

2011 = 안정적이고 균일 시장 → 잘 팔리지 않는 안경에 관심이, 왜 그래

모양

마케팅

“eyewear was all about the Western facial structure”

~USD200-500 안경

2012: 대구에 USD100,000 공장

“By owning the factory, we can maintain high quality with a cheaper price and control the shipping,”

“Here, having a small face is the biggest compliment,” Kim says. “There were no competitors for oversize glasses, which make heads look smaller.”

제품 라인1

제품 라인2

제품 라인3

first contact with brand:

“Nobody understands we are a sunglasses company”

젠틀먼스터 이상하다

“We don’t push sales. We leave customers alone and let them do what they came to do: experience our art and look at our sunglasses.”

“I wanted the products to look as if they were being exhibited”

influencers fit

2018 여행: 들어갈까?

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

https://www.tamburins.com/store/

Recap

✨ Experiential retail: ✔️
🤳 selling to: Korean women in their ~30s
🌐 Offline / Online retail: ✔️ (Quantum space → 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 Björk 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/

“There 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,” said Ku Jin-young, manager at Gentle Monster.

유럽 계획을 보류하다

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 ‘things’

Sources: The Economist, Forbes, Davidson Branding

From Quantum space to Haus Dosan

블핑크 → 누데이크 (+ Arca soundtrack)

Weird cakes

"Analog-digital futures"

두 가지 예

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

✨ Experiential retail: ✔️ (same strategy but now with robots)
🤳 selling to: Millenials (Happy to try something new, shareable experiences over owning ‘things’)
🌐 Offline / Online retail: ✔️ (Quantum space changed every 25 days, Haus Dosan with every collab)

Sources (Accessed: April 2018)

Jing Daily
Business of Fashion
The Investor
Nordstrom

FYI: Experientail retail and gaming

EA: Fifa Online at The Hyundai (2022)
Mihoyo: Genshin Impact offline themed cafes (2022)
Riot: LoL Park Seoul (2018)

~30min talk made in 2018, reheated for 2023