“What I want most is for customers to say, ‘I bought some good clothes.’ The word ‘good’ reflects satisfaction in price, fabric, ands style.”
CEO Chae Song-hee of SSONG SALON(en.ssongsalon.com), an online specialty store for women’s clothing, has successfully captured the hearts of women in their 20s to 30s. Her expertise comes from twelve years of experience in both retail and wholesale through Korea’s fashion hub, Dongdaemun. The brand’s average monthly sales in the second half of this year has already jumped five times compared to the first half.
SSONG SALON offers styles that express individual fashion tastes while being wearable on a daily basis. Women in their mid-20s and 30s make up the brand’s key customer base, with 70% being either career women or housewives. Recent recruitment of a famous model from a home shopping channel has expanded customer base to include women in their 40s to 50s.
SSONG SALON’s main competitive edge is in CEO Chae’s extensive experience in the trade and insight acquired from launching her own brand. At age 19, she jumped into the retail and wholesale trade at the Dongdaemun Market. When she was in her mid-20s, she started her own offline business.
CEO Chae said, “That period of my life proved to be valuable because I gained a trained eye to select quality clothes that are cost-effective.” She added, “I also studied trends on online channels, where it is important to show both a brand’s products and distinctive style.”
Last summer, SSONG SALON completed preparations for expanding into the global market. The brand opened its English and Chinese sites through global e-commerce platform cafe24(www.cafe24corp.com/en). As a result, orders are being placed from various countries around the world including the United States, Canada, Singapore, and China.
CEO Chae said, “We began global outreach after I was told the quality and affordable price range of our products could be competitive overseas.” She explained, “So far we are receiving positive feedback and have gained loyal customers in countries like Thailand.”
For the past year, CEO Chae has repeatedly received feedback that SSONG SALON is a trustworthy brand. Such increase in credibility has directly influenced repurchase rates. Going forward, the brand is planning to expand its self-production product range in order to increase customer satisfaction.
CEO Chae said, “We are planning to increase our self-production line this upcoming spring so that we can launch SSONG SALON styles by the summer season.” She added, “We will also expand our reach globally, beginning full-swing in the United States, United Kingdom, and China.”
Staff Reporter Yoon, Heeseok | pioneer@etnews.com