High fashion brand of France, Louis Vuitton, signed a deal on Nov. 30 this year to open its world’s first airport duty free outlet at Incheon International Airport of Korea. Many foreign tourists planning to visit Korea and Koreans who would go abroad through Incheon International Airport were pleased by the news. However, this issue has become a hot potato in the media because of the excessive profits to LV than other brands in Incheon airport. “We believe that Louis Vuitton was very demanding in the conditions for opening its first airport outlet. No other international airport would agree such conditions, but Incheon airport did.” said an industry source who knows the French brand well on condition of anonymity. The privileges given to LV were advantaged location and lower tariff than other brands. LV could not only open their outlet in front and center, between Gate 27 and 28, but they also pay only a quarter or one third of their revenues as a rent, although other duty free shops pay around 40 percent in general. Because of this treatment, other existing shops had to move to another location and it caused great inconvenience to customers. Due to these unfair conditions, Incheon airport has been criticized by public by reasons of crushing the pride of nation and snobbism.
Incheon International Airport retained its No.1 world ranking in customer satisfaction for last 6 years. Nevertheless, why did Incheon airport give those unfair privileges to LV giving up their pride? I think they could not help choosing that way for their benefit, because Louis Vuitton is expected to contribute to overfulfillment for 1.5 trillion won on Incheon airport’s annual revenues. Then, how can LV bring such enormous benefit to Incheon airport?
This is because of the popularity of Louis Vuitton. It means LV is “common” and “familiar” brand to ordinary people than other luxury brands. LV also treats luxury items, but it has competitive price. There are many lines in luxury brands and among the rest, low-priced line of LV is cheaper than other brands’. However, most people consider LV is very high fashion and luxurious brand. Thus it can give good satisfaction for customers by not that much expensive price, but affordable a bit hard, so LV could be famous in many people. This is the reason why we can see so many Korean women are carrying LV bag on their shoulder in anywhere, even though, they are not all that rich.
Consequently, many foreign tourists visiting Korea love Louis Vuitton than other brands as the same reason I mentioned above. The most of them are Chinese and Japanese who are the largest portions of tourists in Korea. Still, Especially, Chinese tourists buy a bundle of luxury goods in duty free shops at Incheon airport compare to Japanese who just buy a pair of shoes. Thus, satisfying chinese tourists is very important part for Incheon airport’s benefit. In this vein, Incheon airport had to do anything to attract Louis Vuitton to be located as one of their duty free shops.
The two reasons caused by materialism. By rapid economic growth, Korea which was developing country not too long ago joined the ranks of developed countries. At the same time, the gap between the rich and poor is ever widening in Korea. The rich people want to show their wealth to others, so become to buy some luxury items. Some people who cannot affordable to buy them, but want to be like rich follow their custom. Even though, they are frighten at buying 50$ bag in reality, they raked and scraped money to buy only one luxury bag. This social condition is often found in countries that are not high-developed, but developed rapidly not long ago like China and Korea. This is perfect picture of our age of materialism.
In conclusion, the popularity of Louis Vuitton, the largest Chinese tourists who love so much that Louis Vuitton and the materialism which cause all the situations made Incheon International Airport gave the unfair advantages to LV than other brands giving up their pride. I do not object to their decision like others, because it would be best way for their benefit and by this incident, the lucxury brands might be able to compete more in price. Anyways, we became know that fact by this incident, “Money talks,” so Louis Vuitton can “talk whatever they want”.
Yeongjoung,
Where did you get your information about airport customer satuisfaction rankings? The last I heard, as of this year Hong Kong’s and Singapore’s airports are both more highly ranked by customers. And rightly so — they’re both excellent airports with far more services available within the passenger terminal, and with a far more cosmopolitan, international feeling.
As for the LV obsession, I seriously doubt that the LV shop targets foreign tourists — the foreign tourist industry is so small in Korea anyway. I suspect the real reason it’s there is because Koreans are so enamored with Luis Vuitton — more than anyone else in the world — but also, more Koreans shop at duty free shops even than other Asians (although collectively Asians shop at duty free shops a lot). I suspect that,. as with most things that seem directed to foreigners, the real purpose is to make Koreans in Incheon Airport proud and happy, or impressed, or whatever. (A trend common in advertising/presenting Korea to the world, etc.)
I agree about your observation of materialism, but you fail to really ask how we got to this point. The reality is that it connects to history, at least in part to the way the Park Administration justified everything it did in terms of economics, and the way this kind of thinking has come to dominate Korea in the years since. You fail to address why, in a society where the gap between rich and poor is widening, poorer Koreans are struggling (foolishly, you seem to suggest) to have the same luxury items as the rich, instead of to address the economic and power inequality within their society. This problem is the meat — observing the inequality, and the materialism, is only bones. I want more, in other words.
Finally: where’s your strong thesis? Where is your restatement of the thesis i the conclusion? And what, exactly, are you trying to demonstrate through your three arguments in the body? This isn’t a credible 5-paragraph essay. Please review the lessons of the past 15 weeks!