【英语国际】韩国成为奢侈品牌的福地

South Korea is emerging as one of the most 'luxury friendly' places in the world, as the country's growing wealth mixes with a rising tide of shopping-minded tourists, a survey by McKinsey & Co. shows.

The survey, which focused on people who have purchased luxury goods, found that such products appeal more to South Koreans shoppers than in other countries.

Few South Koreans feel guilty about spending money on luxury-brand items or think that they are wasting money on them, the survey found. Only 22% of South Korean respondents said they think that showing off luxury goods is in bad taste -- considerably lower than Japanese and Chinese respondents.

In part, that's due to South Korea's homogenous culture, which both encourages people to distinguish themselves with high-end products and pressures them to keep up with those who do.

Additionally, a deep tradition of craft-oriented trades in the country has created a 'respect for very fine products,' says Aimee Kim, a McKinsey partner in Seoul who specializes in consumer markets. 'Some purchasers may have initially purchased a luxury item to conform, but after the first purchase, they notice a difference in quality.'

She said the results of the survey show there's still room to grow in South Korea for luxury brands, which have raced to the country in recent years. Several Korean conglomerates and investor groups acquired luxury brands from European owners over the past decade as well.

Amid the global economic slump, only shoppers in South Korea and China in the McKinsey survey expressed in sizable numbers that they spent more this past year on luxury goods than before. Some 46% of South Koreans in the survey said they spent more in the past 12 months on luxury items than before, while 44% of Chinese said so. Those figures were sharply higher than the single-digit rates for Japan, the U.S. and Europe.

South Korea accounts for about 4% of global spending on luxury goods. Its rise has been slowed somewhat by the concentration of distribution through department stores and duty-free shops.

But last year, for the first time, big luxury brands could operate stand-alone stores at new malls in Seoul and Busan. Several other new shopping centers are planned for Seoul and Incheon that would house stand-alone stores for big brands.

Also, luxury retailers in South Korea drew tourist shoppers from Japan and China in huge numbers during the past year, when the Korean won was sharply lower against other major currencies.

麦肯锡公司（McKinsey & Co.）的一项调研显示，韩国正成为全世界最“崇尚奢侈品”的国度之一，一方面是由于国内民众日益富裕，另一方面，来自国外的购物游游客数量也在急剧增长。

Associated Press一名韩国妇女从首尔街头一家奢侈品店门前走过。此项调研的主要对象是曾经有过购买奢侈品经历的人群，结果显示，韩国人比其他国家的人对这类商品更情有独锺。

调研发现，很少有韩国人会因为花大价钱购买奢侈品而心存愧疚或者认为自己是在烧钱。在接受调查的韩国人当中，只有22%的人认为炫耀奢侈品是品位低俗的表现──而在日本和中国的受访者中，这个比例要高出很多。

这一现象的部分原因可归结为韩国文化的同质性，在这种文化特性的影响之下，韩国人乐意借助高档品来彰显自己的与众不同，并且要勉力要同拥有奢侈品的人靠齐。

麦肯锡公司负责消费者市场调研的首尔合伙人金艾米（Aimee Kim）表示，此外，手工艺产业在韩国源远流长，形成了“对于极尽精致物品的敬意，有些消费者最开始购买奢侈品也许是为了随大流，而拥有了第一件之后，他们就会发现奢侈品的品质的确卓尔不群”。

她表示，调研结果显示，对奢侈品牌而言，韩国的市场仍然有上升的空间。近年来，已有众多的奢侈品牌竞相进入韩国，更有数家韩国大企业及财团在过去十年间收购了众多的欧洲奢侈品牌。

在全球经济不景的大势之下，麦肯锡此项调研中只有韩国和中国有很大比例的受访者表示，自己去年用于奢侈品的开销比往年更多。大约46%的韩国受访者表示，自己在过去12个月里比之前花了更多的钱购置奢侈品，在中国这个数字则是44%。这两个数字都远远高于日本、美国和欧洲个位数的比例。

在全球奢侈品消费总额中，韩国人贡献了大约4%。看看奢侈品牌在百货公司和免税店中的大规模铺货，可以想见这一数字还会增长。

而且，从去年开始，大牌奢侈品可以在首尔和釜山（Busan）的新商场中开设独立店。首尔和仁川（Incheon）几家规划中的购物中心也可以开设大品牌的独立店。

去年韩币大幅贬值之时，韩国的奢侈品零售店还吸引了大批的日本和中国购物者蜂拥而至。