On May 24, the Korean fashion brand Matin Kim launched its first pop-up store in Tokyo, Japan, marking a significant milestone in the rising popularity of K-fashion among young Japanese consumers. This trend has ignited a wave of Korean fashion platforms expanding into Japan's market, both online and offline.
Last October, leading Korean women's fashion shopping mall, Ably introduced a service that allows vendors to enter the Japanese market through its platform, amood. By utilising the ‘Overseas Sales Integration’ feature in the Ablyapp, vendors can list their products directly on amood, making them accessible to Japanese customers. Ably handles all the complexities of international commerce, including translation, shipping, customs, and customer support.
As of August 22, nearly ten months after its launch, a mood has seen more than 5,500 stores expand into Japan through the platform, with a cumulative listing of 1.85 million fashion and beauty products. The platform’s monthly active users increased by 20% compared to the previous month, and its transaction volume grew by 30%.
The entry of K-fashion platforms into Japan has been gaining momentum since the early 2020s. Mediquitous launched the fashion platform Nuguin Japan in 2020, which has quickly established a strong presence. By last year, Nugu's transaction volume reached 46 billion won, and the platform now has 1.8 million monthly active users. Similarly, another major Korean fashion platform, Musinsa established its Japanese subsidiary, Musinsa Japan, in 2021, operating both pop-up stores and an online shopping mall.
A significant player in the global fashion industry, Japan has an estimated market size of 100 trillion won, double that of South Korea. During Japan's economic boom in the 1980s, prominent designers emerged, bringing Japanese fashion to global prominence and influencing trends in South Korea. While Korean fashion saw a brief surge in popularity in Japan during the early 2000s, interest waned as the initial wave of Korean cultural content, including K-dramas, subsided.
The recent resurgence of K-fashion in Japan can be attributed to the growing influence of Korean celebrities and the widespread use of social media. Korean fashion trends are now spreading rapidly among trend-sensitive young Japanese consumers, fueled by the increase in K-fashion content shared online. A recent Nikkei article highlighted that Korean products and services are thriving in Japan, where social media plays a crucial role in amplifying trends. Young Japanese consumers, particularly those involved in "oshi-katsu" (supporting their favorite idols), are at the forefront of this trend, driving the global popularity of Korean fashion.
