Do you feel there is a difference between a European menswear customer and a Korean menswear
customer in the way they shop, or what they are
looking for from their clothing?
Given how established the menswear market is in Korea, Korean men are now certainly
more confident than the European buyer in the
way they shop, they take more risks with their
choices are more experimental in their styling.
Solid Homme, however, is such an established contemporary brand it is more in-keeping with the European offering currently in the market, thus our
Korean customers are looking for the same as our
European buyers. The minimalism, cuts and shapes
are so unique that an educated buyer whether European or Korean will look to us for their clothing.
There is of course a plethora of other contemporary
brands, Korean or otherwise, which offer much more
outlandish colours, styles and shapes where there
would be a greater difference seen in buying and
shopping trends between the two distinctly separate
areas. However, despite being the originator of Korean contemporary wear we are often seen as a ‘European’ offering. Therefore, our buyers are quite similar in
terms of what they are looking for no matter where they
originate. The main difference we see is in the styling.
What is next for the brand? Are there any other
menswear markets you think are ready for Solid
Homme – the Middle East for example?
As detailed above, we have large aspirations for
the SOLID HOMME brand. We feel the brand is one
of the global leaders in contemporary menswear
and thus will continue to expand our brand business until we achieve our long term strategy. In the
meantime, we are all excited about our immediate
S/S ‘17 opening in Canada with Holt Renfrew and
our strategic alliance with Saks, starting from F/W
‘17 which will give a good indication of how Solid
Homme will be performing in the North Americas.