U.S. streetwear brand Supreme opens store in Korea with high price tag

“Supreme Dosan” in Apgujeong, southern Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap]

American streetwear brand Supreme, owned by U.S.-based apparel and footwear company VF Corp., has opened its first store in South Korea, but consumers complain of its high prices.

According to the fashion industry on Tuesday, Supreme opened its first store, “Supreme Dosan,” near Dosan Park in Apgujeong, southern Seoul, on Saturday. It is the world’s 16th store and Korea is the seventh country in the world and second in Asia to have a store after Japan.

Supreme is a streetwear fashion brand established in 1994 in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. Korean streetwear enthusiasts were thrilled to see the brand enter the Korean market, and some even set up tents nearby the store three days prior to buy products before others.

However, Supreme Dosan disappointed many customers with overpriced products and poor customer service. Some of the products at Supreme Dosan were priced slightly higher than those at Japanese stores, which are known to be the most expensive in the world. The most coveted Tiger Varsity Jacket costs about 897,000 won in Japan based on the yen value as of Tuesday, while it is 918,000 won in Korea.

The Supreme Air Force 1 Low is also about 136,000 won in Japan and 159,000 won in Korea. The Small Box Logo T-Shirt is priced at 98,000 won in Korea while it is 90,000 won in Japan. In the U.S., the same product costs $60.

Supreme’s poor customer service and business handling also caused a lot of resentment. Customers who applied for a store visit online had the appointment rescheduled and unilaterally notified by Supreme an hour or two before the scheduled time.

In addition, many customers who were told to wait for entrance after scanning a QR code failed to be queued up and many had to wait for hours even if they were on time for the appointment. Item purchase restrictions were suddenly imposed without prior announcement and customer inquiries were not properly answered.

The design of the Box Logo T-Shirt that Supreme released to celebrate the opening of the Seoul store also came under controversy as it simply had the store address printed under a picture of the Korean national flower Mugunghwa.