[June 18th KOREA WAVE]

“Hand-knitted content is something that the MZ generation is excited about.”

Founded in the 1980s, the Korean company Philip Textile is a company that has nurtured the market for handicraft products, such as knitting. From ordinary people to handicraft artists, a wide range of people have used the company’s knitting and auxiliary materials to create something they need.

Even in an age where everything is automated, this knitting company is only gaining momentum. As the Korean MZ generation is on the rise and they are looking for handmade items, they have strengthened their D2C (Direct to Consumer) shopping mall and YouTube channel. Kang Sang-won, head of digital strategy at Phillips Textile, emphasized that the so-called “big hit” continues.

“There was a time when it was difficult to find young people to attend hand-knitting gatherings, but the situation has completely changed in the past few years. There has been a trend among the MZ generation to seek out the joy of making things with their hands, and the hand-knitting market as a whole has grown.”

Kang’s approach to the younger generation began about 10 years ago with the launch of a subsidiary brand called “SEVY.” In addition to knitting materials and tools, the brand also sells DIY (Do It Yourself – consumers make their own) kits to complete handmade projects. For example, if a consumer wants to knit a hat for their baby, they can purchase the “Baby Hat DIY” kit.

Another success was bringing in artisans as collaborators. They made their own handmade items as DIY products that consumers could easily replicate and introduced them at Sebi Shopping Mall, which attracted even more customers.

The YouTube channel “Sebi,” which has some 185,000 viewers, is a channel for spreading content that gets people hooked on hand knitting. In-house designers research global trends in hand knitting, create patterns and introduce them in videos. Of course, content from outside artisans is also a catalyst for growth. The channel’s video on jelly ball bags has been viewed 1.35 million times in one year.

“Sevi accounts for more than half of Philip Textile’s overall sales. Last year’s sales increased by more than 50% compared to the previous year. As the videos on our YouTube channel have become more popular, the number of visitors to our D2C shopping mall has also increased.”

Last year, Kang linked Sebi Shopping Mall with YouTube channels to make shopping even more convenient for video viewers. Products listed on the Shopping Mall are automatically exposed on YouTube channels’ “Store tab,” video content (VOD), live commerce, etc. Viewers can click on this to go to the product page on the Shopping Mall and smoothly place an order. This is an example of active use of Cafe24’s “YouTube Shopping Linkage Service,” which has recently been attracting attention from creators.

Sebi believes that this has doubled its sales competitiveness. It has also become easier to understand what products video viewers are interested in. This will serve as the basis for the development of the next product.

“Our YouTube channel is seeing a steady stream of viewers from overseas. The strength of hand-knitting is that it can be enjoyed regardless of language or cultural background. From now on, we will spread the word about the excellence of Korean hand-knitting in the global market.”

(c)KOREA WAVE/AFPBB News