#FYI_About_APM | How apM Shopping Malls Cope with COVID-19 Outbreak
When we look back Y2020, COVID-19 will be the biggest issue of this year and for a while. The pandemic has brought a huge impact on our daily life, not to mention on industry and economy. apM shopping malls — the largest wholesale clothing malls in Korea — have also gone through this impact; the malls and apM Coin project take this time as an opportunity to enhance capabilities to manage current situations and COVID-19 after-effects.
apM, apM PLACE and apM Luxe are famous for their clean and well-kept facilities. As Dongdaemun is the popular tourist spot in Seoul and apM shopping malls, especially apM PLACE, are well connected, many tourists stop by apM malls simply to use the malls’ washrooms and end up with window shopping 😉 (You know that all apM malls are B2B, so general consumers cannot purchase clothing in our malls unfortunately.) More than 20 years have passed since the apM mall has been established though, the buildings are still kept safe and clean. This is because apM Group has focused on building maintenance to provide safe, hygenic and convenient business environments to wholesalers and buyers.
Facing the COVID-19 situation, apM shopping malls have conducted intensive hygiene management like placing hand sanitizers in major customer flow paths and cleaning elevators and escalators with disinfectant cleaning products. Also, the malls have tightened entrance and exit control by opening only a few gates for entrance and exit and placing thermal imaging cameras to check every visitor’s body temperature. The apM malls have been designated as one of the Clean Zones (disinfection-completed area) even. 😊
apM and apM Luxe with Loyal Customer Base of Korean Buyers
apM, apM PLACE and apM Luxe each has slightly different target markets with related to brand theme, product range and main customer base. In case of apM and apM Luxe, the malls are mostly visited by Korean buyers whereas apM PLACE is mostly visited by overseas buyers. The majority of clothing goods in on-/off-line clothing retail stores in Korea are designed and sold by wholesale brands of apM and apM Luxe. As apM and apM Luxe have grown in the heart of Dongdaemun wholesale fashion market for more than two decades, the malls have established a solid customer base owning Korean clothing retailers as their loyal customers. Of course, when COVID-19 hit and had spread in Korea in February, the malls experienced serious challenges. Lately, as Spring weather gets warmer people has found their own routine during this outbreak, the number of orders from Korean customers, especially from online shopping malls, have increased, which contribute to promoting sales in apM malls.
Online shopping mall, apM Style with products from apM, apM PLACE and apM LUXE
It is said that due to the effect of COVID-19, most e-commerce shopping business has experienced sales growth. And so does apM Group. apM Group also has an online B2B marketplace where major brands of apM, apM PLACE and apM Luxe sell their goods online. As many buyers have hassles due to COVID-19 status, an increasing number of buyers place orders for their business via apM Style website recently. apM Style has provided several customer services for the convenience of foreign buyers, including language supports for English, Chinese and Japanese-speaking buyers, fast customer supports via WeChat, Line and KakaoTalk, and overseas shipping options. This online B2B marketplace has played a role as a bridge between wholesalers of apM malls and buyers regardless of where they are.
Global Buyers Showing New Buying Behaviour
Besides placing orders through apM Style online marketplace, global buyers have adopted a new business system so-called staff dispatch system. Instead of travelling to Korea and visiting the malls every two weeks, they send their staffs, making them stay in Korea longer periods. When the staffs go through virus test once they arrive in Korea, all of them are required to self-isolate in their homes or government-run isolation facilities for 14 days. After two weeks, when they test negative for COVID-19, their tasks have begun. The buyers’ staffs visit apM, apM PLACE and apM Luxe to check market trends and place orders daily by the order of buyers. As a result of this buyers’ new business pattern, it is easy to see many global visitors taking photos or recording videos like Wanghong, Chinese influencers. The buyers’ staff send photos or videos to their office and place orders according to their office’s guidance. The ordered goods are shipped to buyers’ office via international shipping by wholesalers or buyers’ staff. Due to this reason, there are also a lot of shopping bags stacked which are ready to be shipped overseas in the hallways.
apM Group: Joining Hands to Overcome Crisis Together with Wholesalers
Although apM shopping malls and our ecosystem participants have gone through this challenging time by coping with changes, the coronavirus outbreak has still dealt a serious blow to the malls’ wholesalers. apM Group always considers co-growth with its wholesale brands of apM, apM PLACE and apM Luxe; in this regard, the company offers a 20% cut in monthly rent and 50% cut in monthly maintenance fee for two months from March to April, worth KRW 4–5 billion (approximately USD 3–4 million). This presents that apM Group values co-existence and shared growth with its tenants, 1,300 wholesale brands or apM, apM PLACE and apM Luxe.
There can be several reasons that apM malls have been adored by wholesalers and thousands of customers over two decades, leading the Dongdaemun wholesale fashion market. It can be premium quality clothing goods of wholesale brands in apM, apM PLACE and apM Luxe. The outstanding customer services like translation service, internet lounges, VIP lounges and luggage services, can be one of them. However, the core reasons arise from strong bonds between apM Group and its wholesale brands. And we believe this will become a significant stepping stone to apM Coin’s business growth.😊
Due to the virus-hit, apM Coin’s service launch has been delayed. To fill this gap, we put more efforts to enhance efficiency and security of our system, aiming to provide more easy-to-use and willing-to-use service to wholesalers and customers. When we have more specific timelines for our official service launch, we will share this exciting news with our community via the official communication channels of apM Coin project.
#Let us know what you want to know more about apM Coin through our article series #FYI_About_APM 😊
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