By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
In today's hyper-competitive global market, companies can no longer succeed overseas simply by imitating rivals' products, observed the chief executive officer of a French clothing company.
He advised that Korean fashion brands seeking to expand overseas should differentiate themselves and find an edge to succeed.
``I think whatever market you are in, what is important is to bring something new on the market," said Georges Spitzer, CEO of French apparel firm Du Pareil Au Meme (DPAM).
Spitzer is visiting Seoul this week to further expand DPAM's retail presence in Korea. DPAM, which specializes in clothes and apparel for babies and children, opened its first store in the country in April, in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul. It plans to open up to 50 more stores in Korea.
Spitzer offered his insight into global fashion and clothing markets in an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul Wednesday.
``You have to be different because everywhere around the world now, there is a very large offering. So you have to have an edge, something that is different from the existing brands,'' said Spitzer, who had also served as a senior executive at LVMH Group. LVMH is an international group with more than 50 luxury brands including Moet and Chandon, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Christian Dior.
``Second, you have to offer something that is meaningful to customers. Then you can go everywhere in the world, provided that you have identified and implemented an edge, something that will differentiate your products against other existing products.''
Spitzer warned against simply copying and following existing products when trying to expand overseas, especially in today's competitive and interconnected global market.
Copying other products and designs used to work years ago, he said, ``when the offering was very limited." But now, ``everywhere in the world, customers have access, either directly or through the Internet, to the global offerings. So only the brands that make differentiations from what already exist on the market will succeed.''
Spitzer said Korean fashion apparel companies have the potential to succeed in overseas markets. ``I think Korean companies have proven in many sectors that they can differ from everyone in the world. Korea has market leaders in many sectors. Among the countries in Asia, Korea has developed some of the most skilled talents in fashion. There are many reputable Korean designers.''
DPAM currently has 369 stores around the world, a little more than half of them located within France. The company has stores and businesses in Europe and the Middle East as well as in Asia including Japan, Singapore and Korea. In coming months, DPAM will open new stores in Malaysia and Hong Kong.
``What we bring to customers everywhere in the world is fashionable garments with a French touch, with a very good quality and an attractive price,'' Spitzer said. ``We offer a unique combination of French fashion, quality and price. I think you can find fashionable products like ours but they are much more expensive.''
``We get feedback from stores around the world on a daily basis. We have a constant flow of creation every day that can adapt to customers' taste and the market changes and evolution.''