Editor’s Note
As demand for high-priced wedding jewelry softens, major fashion companies are pivoting to capture the growing market for more accessible, everyday fashion jewelry. This strategic expansion highlights a key trend in the industry’s search for new revenue streams.
Fashion companies are jumping into the jewelry business one after another. Sejung first introduced its jewelry brand ’12&’ at the end of June. LF, which owns brands like women’s wear brand Joynerus, started selling fashion jewelry ‘Mossbani’ before that. LF entered this market by acquiring the jewelry brand ‘Yerrolor’. Analysts say they have entered the business anticipating that while demand for high-priced wedding jewelry has decreased, demand for mid-to-low-priced jewelry among the younger generation will continue to grow.
The performance of brands operated by the E-Land Group demonstrates the growth of the mid-to-low-priced jewelry market. E-Land World, which has operated ‘Lloyd’ since 1990, currently runs four jewelry brands including ‘Clue’ (2005), ‘OST’ (2006), and ‘Latem’ (2015). Lloyd has grown into a mega-brand with sales reaching around 110 billion won last year. OST recorded annual sales of 36 billion won, Clue 30 billion won, and Latem 4 billion won. Clue and OST focus on silver jewelry, with main product prices in the 20,000 won range, a price point even teenagers can easily afford. Latem is priced even lower, in the 10,000 won range, to attract the younger generation.
They have also begun expanding overseas. Lloyd entered the reverse direct purchase section of China’s Taobao Mall in March this year. Although it was ranked 2300th in the jewelry category at the time of entry, it has now risen to 70th place, thanks to consistently recording over 300 million won in monthly sales. The plan is to achieve 3 billion won in sales in China alone this year. In the second half of the year, the other three brands will also sequentially enter the Chinese market.
A representative fashion company focusing on jewelry is Sejung. Sejung, which owns fashion brands like Indian NII, launched the jewelry brand ‘Didier Dubot’ in 2013. It targets 30-something working women with high-end jewelry and aims to be a global brand. It has emphasized a premium image by selecting famous actresses like Jun Ji-hyun, Suzy, and Lee Na-young as models. These efforts have translated into performance. Sales jumped from 35 billion won in 2015 to 43 billion won in 2017 and 46 billion won last year, as women who preferred luxury jewelry gradually turned their eyes to reasonably priced products. Didier Dubot’s main price range is around 300,000 won.
Park Ira, President and second-generation manager of Sejung, personally led the ’12&’ business.
12& introduced products with reduced gold content (14K, 10K) and lower prices. It selected actors Cha Jung-won and Shin Ye-eun, favored by the millennial generation, as models.
LF’s acquisition of Yerrolor is also a strategic move to quickly enter the jewelry market. Yerrolor differentiates itself by prominently featuring 16K men’s silver rings.
Jewelry specialty companies are also attempting changes this year. J.ESTINA, which has been in the jewelry business since 2003, completely revamped its brand concept, logo, and product design this year. The judgment is that growth is difficult without capturing the Gen Z and Millennial (10s-20s) demographic. J.ESTINA’s goal this year is to become a mega-brand with annual sales in the 100 billion won range from jewelry alone.