Luxury firms open high-end restaurants, coffee shops

The Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton restaurant in Seoul / Courtesy of Louis Vuitton Korea

By Kim Jae-heun

Global luxury brands are opening high-end restaurants, coffee shops and other lifestyle-related businesses to solidify their customer bases and create new revenue streams, according to industry officials, Wednesday. Louis Vuitton and Gucci have recently opened new restaurants in Seoul where they receive customers only via advanced reservations.

Louis Vuitton's very first pop-up restaurant in Korea, "Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton," first opened its doors to customers on April 4 and will close on June 10. The luxury firm serves Korean-style French cuisine by Korean French chef Pierre Sang Boyer, who runs five restaurants in Paris. Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton is located on the fourth floor of Louis Vuitton's flagship boutique in Gangnam District, Seoul.

Currently, Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton is fully booked through June 10, and people are selling their reservation slots at the pop-up restaurant online on secondhand markets for 20,000 won ($15.92) to 100,000 won each.

"We didn't expect Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton to attract so much attention. We have offered a whole new level of dining experience to our customers and we hope our customers get to learn more about French lifestyles," a Louis Vuitton Korea official said.

The Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura restaurant in Seoul / Courtesy of Gucci Korea

Earlier in March, Gucci also opened a contemporary restaurant called "Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura" in collaboration with Italian chef Massimo Bottura. It is the fourth such restaurant opened by Bottura in the world after ones in Florence, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

"We only take customers through online reservations and all the tickets for entry until April 15 sold out only four minutes after we opened sales on March 16. The next set of reservations from April 16 to May 15 also sold out in three minutes," a Gucci Korea official said. "We hope our restaurant provides a good opportunity to promote the Gucci brand while sharing experiences of quality Italian cuisine."

In fact, it was Hermes that took the lead as a luxury fashion house offering cultural or lifestyle experiences, by opening a coffee shop at its flagship store, "Maison Hermes Dosan Park," in Gangnam District, Seoul. It serves desserts supplied by The Shilla Hotels on Hermes' luxury tableware.

"As Korea gains more stature culturally and economically around the world, its capital city is becoming a 'test bed' for luxury experiences. The demand for luxury goods has increased explosively with the increased purchasing power of young customers recently, and international luxury firms are adopting new marketing attempts to promote their brands," Lee Jung-hee, a professor of economics at Chung-Ang University, said.

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