Myeongdong: New era? The commercial zone more crowded of Seoul no longer has shops

What know of Myeongdong? By his name perhaps can not situate you, but if we speak of Seoul and of Korean cosmetic sure that one of the images that come you to the mind is a full street of life, lights of neon and shops of cosmetic to each step.Myeongdong has represented during a lot of years the peak of the Korean cosmetic and has been a zone of reference for all those people interested in retail beauty, however, after the pandemia, this area of Seoul has suffered a change inimaginable that does replantear the sustainability of the model of business that prevailed in his streets until does grieve 3 years.Korea 2 History of Myeongdong To be able to put us in situation is necessary to do a brief route by the history of South Korea.In the decade of the 60, after the War of Korea, the economy of the country began to flourish and the financial sector of the area of Namdaemun-ro expanded gradually to Myeongdong. After the war, between the years 60 and 90, the economy of South Korea was one of which experienced a faster growth all over the world thanks to his capacity to manufacture and export products and to the habits of consumption of his population. The growth and the success of the area of Myongdong answers to this context in which the city found in full renewal and the zone was endowed with big warehouses, shopping centres, restaurants, shops of luxury and boutiques of cosmetic. Already in the years 70 Myeongdong had turned into the meca of the fashion and the cosmetic.Myeongdong Was designated besides like area of special tourist promotion, even in the last years the venues had lost all his interest for strolling by this zone in favour of other areas like Gangnam, Hongdae or Sinsadong. The commercial area of Myeongdong had remained allocated to the tourism practically in 100% and his success and survival depended largely of the Chinese tourism. But it did not need more because more than 1 million of buyers strolled by his streets every day and had turned into the place more crowded of Seoul, so much is so the eases that offers this district for the tourist (hotel deal, restaurants, network of transport very developed) turned it into the ideal place for the visitors that stepped for the first time the city and still were not familiarised with her.They retorted similar commercial districts in other areas of the city and in all the country, the success of Myeongdong has been such that seems almost impossible to affirm that his final could be as the "chronicle of a death announced" and an example of how finish the cities when a zone remains for exclusive use of the tourism for offering few alternatives to the local public.To be the zone more trendy of Seoul to be a zone in which the inhabitants of Seoul did not put a foot if it was not strictly necessary, only has done fault a pandemia to show that the model of business in which it had evolved the zone was little sustainable.The retail in Myeongdong If you were a brand of cosmetic, how many shops would open in 200m of street? By logic would say that the most common answer would be 1.In Myeongdong you could find until 3 and 4 shops in hardly 200m, in the same street, without crosses neither bifurcations. It can seem a madness but could have until sense. In a zone in which they happen to the day more than 1 million of people with the intention to buy some product of facial care how many opportunities of business see? Miles would multiply the ratio of conversion the fact to have more points of sale? Of course!Three equal shops, with the same product, the same offers, the same size. At all it changes, it is necessary to have them in the same street? Yes, whenever it was justified. An alone shop was not able to absorb all the flow that there was in the area of Myeongdong, is by this reason that could find until 5 shops of Innisfree, Tony Moly, Missha, Etude House, Mediheal, Laneige, Nature Republic, The Saem... In the same street. Which is the problem of this model of business? That at present it is not justified. This street has remained without traffic because the pandemia has limited the tourism and more still the Chinese tourism and when the model of business was based in volume and oriented 100% to the foreign public, when east disappears, disappear with him. There is not at all that it can save you. It sounds so catastrophic as it is it in reality. The image that leaves of Myeongdong after the pandemia is desoladora, at least 40% of the venues of the main street are closed without date of reopening.The local public has chosen other areas to happen his time of leisure and make his shopping like Seoul Forest, Seongsu, Garosu-gil, Gangnam, Itaewon... And Myeongdong has remained in the forget, so much that it will have to change his model of business if it wants to keep on being a commercial lung of the city and will have to set up proposals that help to attract again to the citizens of Seoul and combine an offer that was sustainable in the time. We will see again lit the neons in his streets?The evolution of the retail, has died the physical shop? The image of Myeondong does to think in the worst: the retail has died. The photos could accompany to a headline like east and anybody would question it, but, in spite of the consequences devastadoras the pandemia in the district of Myeongdong, the data of Euromonitor aim that the retail in South Korea no only has recovered , but it has surpassed previous figures to 2020. Something that shows that the retail follows very alive, only does lacking to find the formula.Seoul stands out precisely by his innovative proposals in the point of sale. The big marks bet by the capital surcoreana to set up projects very ambitious regarding retail. Flagships Of cientos of square metres with hardly 10 exposed products, the experience of purchase elevates to the maximum level and the consumer is prepared for this. No only it is ready, but it values very positively the experience and is had to pay it.Marks like Dior, Amore Pacific or Tamburins between others know where are the "hot spots" of the city and the most important, are fast opening ephemeral points of sale to be in the zone more cool of the moment only during a time, because the exclusive and the limited forms part of the game. The most recent example would be the concept store of Dior in the district of Seongsu, what knows like Brooklyn of Seoul.Seongsu Is the zone more trendy of Korea, in which you can find the proposals more chic, alternative and new of the moment, a traditionally industrial neighbourhood that has reconverted in a stage of instagram in which big marks want to be present. In an atmosphere that seems relaxed and despreocupada, but in which, obviously, the care of until the last detail does that stroll by his streets was as a circuit of obstacles for esquivar the proposal more rompedora.The physical shop has not died, has transformed the something special, no longer is a space only to buy but to enjoy and this, in Korea, know it well.

Myeongdong: New era? The commercial zone more crowded of Seoul no longer has shops

It has caused the pandemia a change in the model of business of the marks of cosmetic?

Sara Jiménez Garcia

Communication Manager