The Hyundai Daegu brings together a diverse array of brands that pique customers' curiosity. Among them, The Hyundai Daegu Women's Fashion Team is breaking down conventional stereotypes to create a space that is both slightly unfamiliar and intriguing. They are capturing customers' attention with pop-up stores featuring so-called "hot" brands such as Warm Grey Tail, Wiggle Wiggle, SABAI SABAI, and COJANTA. Even teenage customers, who were rarely seen in the women's fashion section, are heading to the 4th floor without hesitation. What is happening on the 4th floor of The Hyundai Daegu? We met with Senior Staff members Jo Hae-young and Lee Ji-yoon, who are creating this groundbreaking and trendy space.

What does the Women's Fashion Team do at The Hyundai Daegu, and what roles do the two of you play?

Jo Hae-young (Senior) is working on the 4th floor of the Women's Fashion Team, managing overall sales and discovering new content centered on golf.

Lee Ji-yoon (Senior) primarily oversees character and young fashion in the women's casual section on the 3rd floor. You could say that I am generally performing various tasks necessary to improve the overall environment of the 3rd floor. The Women's Fashion Team is responsible for two floors: the women's casual section on the 3rd floor and the women's fashion section on the 4th floor. While the casual section features many youthful-looking clothes for those in their 20s to 40s, the women's fashion section targets the 40s and older age group, showcasing designer-centered brands with a sense of weight.

Jo Hae-young: A strength of the Women's Fashion Team is that it houses many contemporary brands and brands affiliated with Hansam. Additionally, since two years ago, we have brought in over eight new golf-related brands, establishing a solid product lineup that is second to none among competitors when it comes to golf in Daegu.

The Women's Fashion Team is planning trendy and groundbreaking pop-up stores unique to The Hyundai Daegu, such as 'Wiggle Wiggle' and 'Sabai Sabai'. It seems they are breaking stereotypes by introducing brands that are not immediately associated with the women's fashion demographic.

Jo Hae-young pondered what changes we could make to the Women's Fashion Team alongside the renewal of The Hyundai Daegu. While the food hall on the first basement level and the Creative Ground on the second basement level underwent a major spatial transformation, the Women's Fashion Team's space hadn't seen any noticeable changes. So, I thought, why not try breaking the mold? That is why we began transforming the event space on the women's fashion floor into our own unique style. Since many brands wanted to open stores in the newly introduced basement space rather than on the fourth floor, I personally went around persuading them and highlighting the advantages of our space.

Jo Hae-young, Senior Manager, The Hyundai Daegu Women's Fashion Team.

Lee Ji-yoon, Senior Manager, The Hyundai Daegu Women's Fashion Team.

What aspects of the 4th-floor women's fashion floor are you highlighting as their strengths?

At The Hyundai Daegu, there is 'The Forum,' which features an outdoor garden spanning approximately 4,297 square meters (1,300 pyeong), including balloon sculptures in 'The Square' that extend from the first to the third floor, as well as the outdoor garden on the ninth floor. It is a space we take great pride in and take great satisfaction in, and it is a place frequently visited by our customers. Since there is only one escalator going down from the ninth floor, customers are forced to encounter the pop-up store on the fourth floor; however, this space allows us to divert the footsteps of customers moving smoothly along the escalator toward the fourth floor. It is a space that can capture the attention of even a single more customer and possesses the power to attract them.

I think a major strength is that we are the second department store to hold the "The Hyundai" title, following The Hyundai Seoul. We are fulfilling our role as a complex cultural space, and because we are discovering brands that were previously unavailable in department stores, it is also a space that offers many opportunities for new brands. Additionally, since the Women's Fashion Team is the only one showcasing a diverse range of products such as lingerie, golf wear, and shoes, we have a diverse customer base, which is an advantage as it allows us to expand our customer base.

I am curious about the preparation process for a pop-up store. From item selection to space design, what steps are involved, and approximately how long does it take?

Jo Hae-young: First, I think about the content. For instance, if I decide on a character as the content, I compile a list of related brands and look for brands that have never been introduced in Daegu before. After organizing the candidates, I send out proposal emails, visit the brands in person to persuade them... I repeat an endless process of rejection and persuasion. (Laughs) Once I feel I have moved their mind to some extent, I invite the brand representative to The Hyundai, show them around the entire floor, and introduce the strengths of the Women's Fashion Team's space.

Lee Ji-yoon’s first pop-up store was last December, and we have hosted approximately nine brands through May of this year. The process of persuasion takes a long time, but we are preparing quickly and thoroughly.

One of the directions the women's fashion team pursues for the pop-up store is to introduce good, locally based brands.

The women's fashion team, which has brought in more than eight new golf-related brands since two years ago.

You have an exceptional eye for selecting items. Meeting customer needs must be the most important thing, so what do you keep in mind when compiling your list?

Jo Hae-young: First, I place great importance on 'hot brands in Seoul.' It is important that customers can visit The Hyundai Daegu without having to travel all the way from Daegu to Seoul. Second, I am contacting places with a clear brand concept. Whether it is a character brand or a lifestyle shop, there must be a concept distinct enough to leave a lasting impression on customers.

Do you also select items considering the regional characteristics of 'Daegu'?

Jo Hae-young: Of course. We have done so far, and we plan to continue doing so consistently in the future. If we look at the direction of our pop-up stores in two main directions, the first is to bring Seoul's hottest brands to Daegu. The second is to introduce high-quality brands based in the Gyeongsang region, including Daegu, Busan, and Gumi. We want other branches to come for benchmarking and think, "What is this brand? How about bringing it to our region?" It is essentially a form of reverse export. The 'Not Only Books X Tobacco Books' pop-up store held earlier this year was created with this intention.

The 'Not Only Books X Tobacco Books' pop-up store was refreshing because, in a way, it was a combination of an independent bookstore and an independent publisher that seemed completely unrelated to fashion.

Jo Hae-young: Senior Manager Yoon Ji-won, who has now moved to the headquarters’ JAJU MD team, was a huge help. She was the first to suggest that it would be great to introduce these items to the Daegu region. Of course, since the unit price isn't as high as clothing, it might be disappointing if you look at it solely in terms of sales. However, from the perspective of department store distribution, I believe there is a need to play a role in transforming non-mainstream items into something distinctly department store-style and delivering them to customers. In that sense, it was meaningful, and the customer response was positive. Therefore, we are preparing to showcase an upgraded version in the second half of the year.

Designing a space that suits the brand every time you open a pop-up store must not be easy. What criteria do you use to consider the main theme or colors that make up the space?

I try to reflect the characteristics of the Lee Ji-yoon brand as much as possible. When it comes to color, every brand has a signature color. So, when I visit a brand showroom, I always look to see what color the brand pursues. In the case of 'ooa pottery,' it was pink, and for 'Sabai Sabai,' it was in the orange family, so I matched the overall tone accordingly.

Jo Hae-young: I think we’ve accumulated a lot of data as we’ve been working on this for over half a year. After realizing that a 'photo zone' is an essential element, we explained its importance to the brand. We found that when customers took photos in front of it and uploaded them to social media, the advertising effect was powerful. Along with the photo zone, viewpoints are also important. You need an image that catches the eye of customers coming down the escalator.

Lee Ji-yoon's Ooa Pottery opened a one-day hand-painting class, incorporating the unique characteristics of a pottery workshop. They also create experience booths like this that suit the brand.

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The Hyundai Daegu, boasting a solid product lineup that rivals any competitor when it comes to 'golf' in Daegu.

I heard they also create limited edition items exclusive to The Hyundai Daegu in collaboration with brands.

Lee Ji-yoon: That’s right. It was an idea that came up while talking with Senior Manager Yoon Ji-won. We thought it would be interesting to create a character unique to the Women’s Fashion Team. We made that a reality through a collaboration with 'Sabai Sabai.' Coincidentally, the brand was producing custom accessories. We commissioned and created a character named 'Claire,' a curious genius cat symbolizing the Women’s Fashion Team, and sold a limited edition of 50 pieces exclusively at The Hyundai Daegu. I think it would be fun to continue weaving stories by linking Claire with the brand. I don't know when we’ll be able to meet Claire again, but I look forward to what comes next.

It seems like you spend a lot of time legwork to discover new items. Do you travel for business often? I imagine you also pay close attention to every place you visit during your leisure time.

I created a 'Content TF Team' at The Hyundai Daegu to discover new content. It consists of about five people, and since joining the team, I have been traveling nationwide for business trips 5 to 7 days a month. I absolutely never go to department stores; instead, I try to visit many independent shops and select boutiques while walking around the streets.

As I use this social media, I feel grateful for the algorithm, but at the same time, it is a bit scary. It shows me an enormous number of brands related to the items I’ve shown interest in. Thanks to that, I’ve discovered many brands. Although I don’t travel for business often, I take advantage of the ‘OFD,’ or Office Free Day, that my company supports about once a month. I visit exhibitions and pop-up spaces in addition to department stores to broaden my horizons and gain inspiration.

I learned a lot from Senior Staff members Jo Hae-young, Yoon Ji-won, and Lee Ji-yoon. I find ideas in my own way, but since I fall somewhere between the M and Z generations, I don't really know the current trends of Generation Z. However, the two senior staff members are great at pinpointing things. They toss out ideas, asking, "Isn't this really cute? Isn't it good?" Then, my role is to dig deeper into those items.

You are presenting curated exhibitions that span various categories, including clothing, lifestyle concept stores, photo books, and art select shops. I get the impression that you are breaking down the boundaries of the limited realms typically associated with fashion, such as clothes and accessories; is this actually how people perceive it?

Jo Hae-young: That’s right. Breaking away from stereotypes was more important than anything else. At first, I even heard people ask, “What does this have to do with women’s fashion?” However, as the second store to bear the “The Hyundai” title following Seoul, I repeatedly emphasized that to show customers something new, we naturally had to break down fashion boundaries and present a side of ourselves that we hadn’t shown before.

Please introduce brands you would like to collaborate with in the future or items that interest you.

Lee Ji-yoon: I would like to mention two brands. One is 'FLOWOOM,' a brand I personally like. It ranks first in the dress category on an online fashion platform, and the response was incredibly enthusiastic when they recently held a sample exhibition. I am confident that bringing it to Daegu to showcase to customers will be well-received, so I plan to give it a try. The other is 'make. a. pottery,' a ceramics brand from Daegu. Based on my experience with charming ceramic pop-up stores, I believe I can create an even more substantial one.

Jo Hae-young: I believe independent publications represent a blue ocean of content. While running the 'Not Only Books X Tobacco Books' store, I realized it would be beneficial to bring these independent publishers and their works together. I am continuously contemplating initiatives that go beyond the women's fashion demographic and allow us to view The Hyundai Daegu as a whole.

Please introduce any pop-up stores that will be held this summer or during the remainder of the first half of the year.

Jo Hae-young: We will be hosting the ' YIEYIE ' pop-up store starting June 8th . It is a handbag brand based in Seongsu, Seoul, that has previously held a pop-up store at The Hyundai Seoul. Interestingly, the person in charge at The Hyundai Seoul and I were in contact at the same time, which is how we ended up opening these events back-to-back. It is the second label of the designer shoe brand YUL YIE , and it is a handbag brand with a youthful vibe. It has a large following not only in Korea but also in Japan, China, and Hong Kong. We plan to decorate and present the space we are collaborating with YIEYIE in a more iconic way, so we ask for your continued interest.

Maker's Pick

3 Pop-up Store Brands for the Second Half of the Year, Ambitiously Prepared by the Women's Fashion Team

PPP Studio

PPP Studio gathers scattered inspiration from everyday life and renders it into paintings. They then capture these paintings in objects that can stay by our side for a long time. It is a brand that constantly contemplates how to create products that can accompany our precious daily lives for an extended period.

Period: August 4 (Fri) – August 17 (Thu)

IAE

As the second label of the designer shoe brand Yulie, it is a brand that aims to express infinite creativity and freedom beyond just shoes. It presents a casual and witty atmosphere that reinterprets Yulie's signature designs into the image of active women, and is a brand preferred by the MZ generation that is gaining popularity worldwide, including in Japan and Hong Kong.

Period: June 8 (Fri) – June 18 (Sun)

private

A living goods shop located in Jung-gu, Daegu, with the meaning of 'thoughtful items for private spaces.' It is operated to help customers' private spaces become a little more thoughtful through products carefully selected to reflect the owner's taste.

Period: June 19 (Mon) – June 29 (Thu)