Fashion platforms ramp up competition over limited-edition exclusives

South Korean fashion platforms are engaged in fierce competition to offer exclusive and limited-edition products available only on their own services.

By partnering with brands from the product-planning stage to launch differentiated items, platforms are using exclusives as a way to attract customers—an approach the industry says is particularly effective in building a loyal fan base.

According to industry sources on Sunday, fashion and lifestyle platform 29CM has seen strong results from its 29 Exclusive tab, which features curated, platform-only products.

The platform held a special promotion from December 1 to 10 last year, featuring more than 200 brands, during which its cumulative transaction volume rose by more than 67 percent from a year earlier.

The women’s designer brand The Barnnet recorded 1.3 billion won ($892,097) in sales on the opening day of the promotion alone.

“Exclusive products give consumers a reason to purchase on a specific platform,” said a 29CM official. “As competition intensifies, the key will be how consistently platforms can secure co-developed products and exclusive lineups with brands.”

Cases of platforms co-planning products with brands are also on the rise.

Platforms such as 29CM and Musinsa operate 29 Edition and Musinsa Edition, respectively, collaborating with partner brands from product planning to content creation and marketing.

Kakao Style’s Zigzag platform runs a Zigzag Only section that brings together beauty products planned exclusively for the platform, which has boosted brand transaction volumes by as much as 37 times.

Also, halfclub, operated by Tricycle, a subsidiary of LF Corp., directly purchases products from department-store and street brands to offer exclusive collections at discounted prices.

The direct-purchase transaction volume of halfclub has grown at an annual average of more than 20 percent over the past three years.