SEOUL, KOREA- Sungjoo Group's luxury fashion brand MCM has decided to close some of its department store locations due to sluggish performance in the domestic market. MCM, however, plans to strengthen marketing activities in China where its sales continue to grow.
In the first half of this year, MCM saw the share of duty-free shops in its total sales exceed those of its domestic department store business. This can be interpreted as a change in which foreign tourists, mostly Chinese ones, purchase more luxury items than domestic consumers.
One of its duty-free shops marked a remarkable year-on-year growth of 300 percent in the first half of this year, while another duty-free shop enjoyed a more than two-fold jump in sales during the same period.
In contrast, MCM's domestic department store business has continued to register a negative year-one-year growth starting from last year.
Currently, MCM sells its products at 280 stores in 30 countries worldwide, including 70 stores in Korea and 30 in China. The company aims to strengthen its global business this year, as well as to beef up its operations in China, Southeast Asia, and Europe.