On a weekday afternoon, men populate the sixth floor of Shinsegae Department Store in Banpo-dong, southern Seoul, which has recently been renovated in a push for more male customers.

Many of them shop alone or with their male friends ― a rare scene in Korea where mothers, wives or girlfriends still dominate purchases of men’s fashion.

“Women used to stroll through the men’s floor on weekdays and then bring their sons or husbands on weekends for a quick purchase,” said Lee Sang-heun, a sales manager at Shinsegae.

“But the trend has started to change now. Many male customers are now more informed than ever and make decisions on their own.”

Department stores are the main channel for the sale of fashion and beauty items in Korea, especially luxury goods. And they have long targeted female customers with their lower floor spaces dedicated mostly to women.

However, retail spending among Korean men has grown rapidly, prompting retailers to put a fresh emphasis on their demands.

Shinsegae Man, which opened on Oct. 6 in the well-off district of Gangnam, is one of the most aggressive male-oriented trials in the local retail industry.

Largely inspired by men’s department stores such as Japan’s Isetan and France’s Lafayette, the 4,800-square-meter space embraces some 150 brands, tailor-made suit and shoe shops and a cafe. Until now, it has been rare in Korea for department stores to show such investment in their men’s sections.

The renovation project was carried out under the leadership of architect Jeffrey Hutchison who is best known for his work with Barneys New York.

For the two-year-long project, Shinsegae invested more than 10 billion won ($8.62 million).

Six designers’ brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Burberry have also situated their first men’s stores in Korea on the floor.

“Considering (Japan and France) are countries popular for fashion, we had doubts at first about the timing of the Korean adoption and sales,” Lee said.

“Now one month on, male customers seem to have become active shoppers ― at least in this space.”

According to Shinsegae, the portion of male customers has increased from 24.7 percent in 2009 to 35.7 percent this year.

Han Sung-young, a shop master at Shinsegae’s multi-brand shop Man on the Boon, also said that Korean men are well informed on fashion trends and brands and are no longer intimidated when shopping.

“I’m surprised to find they have a lot of information and knowledge about foreign fashion labels, sometimes even more than me,” she said.

“Especially, younger people have a very specific taste about their outfits and they are very into details.”

As Korean men are considered more brand conscious than women, their growing interest in fashion is leading to the sales growth of luxury goods, and watches in particular.

“Luxury watches have long been favored as wedding gifts for grooms here. But Korean men of all age groups now show interest in the item regardless of marriage,” said Song Jee-ni, a PR manager for TAG Heuer.

“They may consider luxury watches, together with cars, as a means of expressing their sophisticated taste and social status.”

The Nation’s No. 1 department store chain Lotte Department Store reported a 36.6 percent growth in the sales of luxury watches between January and October this year compared to a year earlier.

With the Japanese sales slowing after the March earthquake, Korea has also become the most important Asian market for global watch brands, she added. 

While the fashion segment in Korea is fast catching up with those in other regions, Korean men are leading the Asian trend of male grooming.

Lab Series, a men’s skincare brand owned by Estee Lauder, launched Wednesday its first blemish balm cream ― more popularly known as BB cream ― which is popular among hip guys in Korea.

The product covers imperfections and provides sun protection and is believed to have originated in Korea.

Lab Series, one of the first men’s skincare brands, has joined other international cosmetics makers to introduce their own versions of BB cream. 

“Our business in Korea is just on fire,” said Richard Sawyer, an education director for Lab Series.

Currently, the brand’s Korean sales are the highest among countries worldwide.

“Asian men, especially Korean men, are more forward-looking and open to trying new things we introduce into the market.”

The well-known male grooming guru, who has also worked with fashion magazines such as GQ, praised the fashion style of Korean men, saying: “They are better even compared to their European cousins.”

Korea is well-known for its innovation and technology through consumer goods. Maybe Korean men have a psyche to try new things.”

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)