Editor’s Note
The opening of Louis Vuitton’s largest regional duplex store in Daejeon signals a strategic shift, challenging the long-standing Seoul-centric model of South Korea’s luxury market. This move by Daejeon Shinsegae could redefine where and how high-end consumers shop.
Daejeon Shinsegae (CEO Yoon Seok-hee) is setting a new milestone for the luxury market outside the Seoul metropolitan area. The Louis Vuitton store opening on the 31st is the largest duplex structure among standalone stores in regional areas and is evaluated as a strategic move that will shake up the Seoul-centric luxury consumption landscape.
Daejeon Shinsegae Art&Science announced on the 30th, “We will open a store for the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton on the first and second floors of the department store on the 31st.” This store, a key global brand secured four years after Daejeon Shinsegae’s opening, is expected to drive the luxury consumption market not only in the Chungcheong region but across all non-metropolitan areas.
The new Louis Vuitton store is designed as a duplex, allowing customers to experience the brand’s main collections—including women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, fine jewelry, beauty, accessories, and travel—in one space. Notably, a dedicated elevator is installed within the store to seamlessly connect the two floors.
The women’s ready-to-wear section features the sophisticated and functional ‘2025 Women’s LV Ski Collection,’ while the men’s collection showcases Creative Director Pharrell Williams’s ‘2026 Spring/Summer Men’s Pre-Collection,’ which captures the essence of the English countryside. The fine jewelry line unveils the ‘Color Blossom,’ commemorating Louis Vuitton’s iconic Monogram Flower, alongside the genderless ‘Le Diamant de Louis Vuitton.’
Through this opening, Daejeon Shinsegae aims to create a crack in the Seoul-centric luxury retail market structure. In fact, Louis Vuitton is a brand cautious about department store openings even domestically. Its decision to open a non-metropolitan store at Daejeon Shinsegae is interpreted as a signal acknowledging the market’s maturity in terms of brand trust and purchasing power.
By the end of this year, the store will be filled with window displays based on the ‘Le Voyage des Lumières’ concept, which reinterprets Louis Vuitton’s trunk heritage. Daejeon Shinsegae stated, “We will deliver the artistic sensibility and excitement of the French luxury house directly to local customers.”
This opening holds significant symbolism as it represents the rise of a key regional hub within the luxury market’s ‘Seoul-centric’ structure. With the entry of Louis Vuitton, Daejeon Shinsegae aims to leap beyond its image as the ‘regional No. 1 store’ within Chungcheong to become a new axis in the national luxury distribution network.