Polène Paris’ Seoul Flagship Store
Polène Paris opened its first boutique in Seoul earlier this month, sending shockwaves across the luxury industry. This store marks only the fourth country where the brand has a directly operated store, after New York and Tokyo. So why did Polène come here of all places?
I wanted to share my thoughts from my visit to the Seoul Sinsa store last week. Here are a few things I noticed:
𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐃: The brand was selling like hotcakes. I spoke to one of the Client Advisors, who mentioned that on the opening weekend, clients were simply coming up to her asking for 'one of these' and then proceeding to pay.
𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄: I typically like to share visuals from the store, but this time, it took serious patience to wait for a less busy moment when the furniture was visible and merchandise was on the shelves, not being tried on.
While Polène's pricing strategy makes it much more accessible to the Korean audience, this alone is not enough to impress. So, what else did Polène do to be locally appealing?
𝐎𝐌𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: Tablets installed on walls on each floor allowed store visitors to sign up for the brand newsletter and browse all available items, not just those displayed.
𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐇: A beautiful photo booth with a cool concept allowed both individuals and groups to pose for a photo (with leather flower prompts available) select their favorite out of four taken, and have it printed and put in a 'Polène' folder. There was also an option to sign up for a waitlist via a QR code placed in a visible spot.
𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍: Sinsa is famous for its Ginkgo trees lining both sides of the street. The brand paid tribute to this by using furniture made out of Ginkgo wood—minimal and modern, just like the brand. Kudos to WGNB agency for creating such a stunnig space
𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓: The brand expressed respect for Korean culture by commissioning a Korean artisan to create ceramic plates installed on several pieces of furniture throughout the store.
𝐂𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄: There were two try-on stations next to the jewelry section, and a beautiful lounging area eagerly used by visitors. This was enhanced by the extremely welcoming attitude of the Client Advisors.
𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆: The team was exceptionally well-trained. Despite the high store traffic, I was walked through both floors and given detailed information about the brand history, the Seoul location, the interior, and the collections. It was an absolutely lovely experience.
𝐒𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆: The design clearly resonated with the trend of 'quiet luxury' in South Korea. I overheard a couple admiring how 'European' the products felt.
𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: An engraving service was available on-site, beautifully designed and readily available for those who purchased one of the bags
All in all, Polène designed and executed an exceptionally well-thought-out market strategy, making its entry into the Korean market a best-case example.
