[Weekender] Children’s luxury market booming

Thirty-one-year-old housewife Kim Jin recently bought her 2-year-old daughter a winter coat from Moncler for just over 1 million won ($930).

She knew her daughter would probably wear it for no more than two years because kids grow so quickly, but said she could not resist buying it.

“It would make a great match with my Moncler winter jacket. It is kind of a fad among mothers here to wear matching garments with their children,” she said. In her Internet community, Kim said, women gladly share the latest fashion and lifestyle trends, and most of them are quite expensive.

“It’s natural that you want the best for your children,” she said.

Like Kim, more and more people are turning to the so-called kids’ luxury market. 

According to Samsung Design Institute’s 2013 report, the domestic children’s fashion market is estimated at around 1.5 trillion won. A merchandiser of a luxury brand, which also releases a line for kids, assumes the luxury segment to be more than 10 percent of the total children’s fashion market. “The number of customers may be small but the amount they spend can be large,” she said, declining to be named.

At upscale department stores including Shinsegae, The Galleria and others, kid’s luxury fashion has become a solid sector.

The Galleria in the affluent southern Seoul is equipped with high-end and fashion-forward brands such as Bensimon Kids, Kinderspel, Sophia Cashmere and more.

“Our customers are very trend-savvy and their taste for unique lifestyles is reflected in shopping for their children. They want something unique for their kids,” said Eo Taek-su, merchandiser at The Galleria.

But the children’s luxury market goes far beyond fashion and the most standout sector is the stroller. South Korea has been the test bed for luxury prams as people rush to provide “better transportation” to their children.

Norwegian premium brand Stokke, which tops domestic sales in the upscale sector, in 2012 said its sales have soared by double digits every year in Korea. Other household brands including Orbit, Maclaren, Inglesina and others are all selling like hotcakes, according to a department store merchandising director who declined to be named.

And large retailers are vying to open online stores with huge discount offers. “These days mothers are armed with information from literally all over the world and are always asking for the latest and the most luxurious brands,” a merchandiser at AK Mall, an online shopping site, said. 

Moreover, some shop directly from foreign retailers via the Internet.

Thanks to numerous free trade agreements guaranteeing tariff exemption, Google Translate and Korean services provided by website operators, more people are looking to shop on eBay, Amazon and other overseas websites. According to online cashback shopping site Ebates, the top five foreign shopping malls frequented by Koreans were eBay, Gap, Amazon, Shopbop and children’s lifestyle mall Carter’s.

“A considerable amount of the trade made is expected to be children’s goods,” an Ebates press representative said.

Market experts say the rise of children’s luxury goods stems from the change in family structure.

“More people are having only one child, and the amount of money they spend on childrearing is increasing. It is natural that the premium market for kids is expanding,” Eo from The Galleria said.

“As more families have the so-called double income, parents who can afford better things tend to turn to luxury products. They find a lot of pleasure in seeing their kids well dressed or playing with good toys,” said Kim, a 34-year-old office worker with a 3-year-old daughter.

Kim, who asked not to reveal her full name, had bought her daughter a wool vest from Bonpoint, a French children’s luxury store, for around 300,000 won. Kim said she had dreamed of shopping at Bonpoint since she laid eyes on Suri Cruise, the daughter of Hollywood star Tom Cruise.

“Those paparazzi shots are everywhere and I thought that one day when I have a daughter I would dress her like that, like a princess,” she said. “To me, my daughter is my own Suri Cruise.”

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)