Hwan-geum Choi, Gounee Yang Global Economic News BRAND K, a chain store brand promoting South Korean-made products, has opened its first overseas flagship store in Vietnam. The Korea SMEs & Startups Agency (KOSME) announced Wednesday that it held an opening ceremony for the Brand K flagship store at Bitexco Tower in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. South Korean and Vietnamese officials including Kim Hak-do, chairman of the KOSME, and Nguyen Van Nga, deputy director of Vietnam’s industry-trade ministry, attended the opening ceremony. Brand K was initiated in 2019 for South Korea’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have difficulties in entering international markets. It currently sells 190 products and will expand to 300 this year. In November last year, it opened a flagship store at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul. The flagship store in Vietnam is the first outside South Korea. The Brand K flagship store in Vietnam features traditional Korean interior designs. It houses product booths, a livestreaming commerce studio, and a media wall that introduces Brand K’s products as well as South Korean culture. The KOSME plans to attract Vietnamese consumers to the flagship store through various events and promotions. It will hold online and offline marketing campaigns in collaboration with international shopping malls. It will also livestream promotions by enlisting local internet influencers and provide some one-day classes using Brand K’s products. It will also hold events including K-pop cover dance contests and traditional Korean games in order to effectively promote the flagship store and the products it sells. | 