Inside Ami’s big move on South Korea

To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here. French designer brand Ami is betting big on South Korea with the opening of a flagship store this month in Seoul, supported by a show during Seoul Fashion Week in October. The 300-square-metre store, its biggest in the world, opened in Seoul’s Garosu-gil area on 1 September and spans four floors including menswear, womenswear and accessories. For Alexandre Mattiussi, who founded Ami back in 2011 as a menswear brand that became synonymous with Parisian cool, it’s a significant moment. CEO Nicolas Santi-Weil shares Mattiussi’s enthusiasm for the potential of South Korea. “It’s a major step for us, given the importance of Korea in our business. But, it’s beyond numbers, because of Korea’s soft power,” he says. “We have been looking at the market since the beginning — they are trendsetters.” Santi-Weil notes that South Korea’s influence is now extending well beyond the Asia-Pacific region. “There’s something playful about Korea that’s very inspiring,” he says. He is enthusiastic about the wider bustling Seoul district of Gangnam-gu, which includes the popular gingko tree-lined streets of Garosu-gil where the new flagship is located. The area close to the new flagship is packed with concept stores and high-quality restaurants. “It's an interesting district for a freestanding store because it is one of the neighbourhoods where Koreans walk — there’s a lot of foot traffic.” The show is set for 11 October on the opening day of Seoul Fashion Week, which runs until 15 October. The event will feature the Spring/Summer 2023 collection first presented at Paris men’s week in June against the backdrop of the Sacré-Coeur, with Amélie’s Audrey Tautou opening the show, Kristen McMenamy closing it, and Naomi Campbell and Carla Bruni in the audience. The Paris show created an impressive buzz, ranking fifth at Paris men’s fashion week in terms of Media Impact Value, according to Launchmetrics. For Seoul, Ami won’t simply repeat the Paris event. Santi-Weil says there will be different looks and castings, although he’s reluctant to share the details this early. “It will be a strong cultural message,” he says. “One of Ami’s strengths is to go to the place, to meet, exchange, not just do business remotely or online.” Ami first entered South Korea in 2013 with Samsung as its local partner and has built its presence to include 10 shop-in-shops in luxury malls, two wholesale accounts in multi-brand stores, an e-commerce website — plus the new flagship. South Korea is among its top five markets, behind China, France and Italy, and level with the US, accounting for approximately 10 per cent of turnover. The brand expects to triple its revenues in South Korea in the year to February 2023, compared with the year prior. South Korea has emerged as a reliable luxury beacon in the APAC region, contrasting at present with China, which is still affected by its ongoing zero-Covid policy, with strict lockdowns and store closures. Luxury sector CEOs have flocked to Korea this spring. Dior staged a debut show in Seoul in April and opened a new concept store. Santi-Weil prefers to play down concerns about China: “I remain optimistic about China, the market is slowly picking up,” he says. Ami, which has 12 stores in China, is certainly well positioned to leverage growth when the country fully reopens. In January 2021, VC firm Sequoia Capital China took a controlling stake in Ami with the goal of helping the brand “quickly achieve digital transformation and penetrate deeply into the local market”. (Sequoia China has also invested in fashion platform Ssense, South Korean brand We11done and Parisian brand Destree). Menswear still represents the majority of the business but womenswear, introduced in 2019, is growing faster. Ami also has a wide unisex offer, notably knitwear, which resonates with the Korean market. “In Korea we realised, before we had a womenswear line, that more than 40 per cent of our customers were women,” says Santi-Weil. Bestsellers in South Korea include pieces with the tonal Ami heart-shaped logo as well as strong colours and pastels. The brand is on a winning streak globally, forecasting total sales of around €250 million in fiscal 2022, up from €135 million last year. Since the investment from Sequoia China, Ami has had the resources to open a flagship in New York and stage star-studded mega-shows in Paris. “Sequoia supports us in our vision that Ami values are universal,” says Santi-Weil. “They resonate in Asia, Europe and in the US.” The Seoul store interior design, conceived by Mattiussi himself, features distinctive geometric patterns and an elegant wooden spiral staircase. “I have always received such wonderful support from our Korean friends and customers,” says Mattiussi. “They have a genuine passion for fashion and style, and a great understanding of our brand, its Parisian roots and its spirit.” Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com. More from this author: Richemont to sell YNAP stake to Farfetch, writes down €2.7 billion An artistic director for a hotel? Patou’s Guillaume Henry applies his vision to So/Paris Tiffany is turning Cryptopunks into pendants with NFTiff

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