Chanel's “Open Run” phenomenon, which has heated  Korea for a while, seems gradually losing steam.

Over the past months, local News Reports state that this  “Open Run” phenomenon has strikingly decreased. 

While there were over 100 people in front of stores last year, the people in front of department store openings on days of new releases would only reach 30-60 people, states a Korean news source. 

For the past few years, hundreds of people have gathered in front of department stores very early in the morning, waiting for the high-end fashion boutiques to open for business. 

Some people would sleep in front of the stores in order to secure a front spot on the long line. 

People call such a phenomenon the “Open Run,” describing how people would run into the store the moment they open their doors for business. 

Because of this, people in Korea have reached the point where they can not buy products even if they have money.

The “Open Run” phenomenon was born with the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Nevertheless, many people predicted that this phenomenon has also happened because of the characteristic of the MZ generation.

Unlike upper generations, MZ generations earn money to spend for themselves right away rather than saving it.

For real, the luxury goods purchase rate increased over 3.5 times in 2019 compared to 2018.

Therefore, the characteristics of young people seem to have further boosted Chanel’s “Open Run” phenomenon caused by Covid-19.

News sources had repeatedly stated that this phenomenon is intriguing, for “Open Runs” were much larger when the pandemic peaked. 

And while the effects of the pandemic are dwindling down over the past few months, people have been less willing to gather to secure the newest products. 

Many professionals stated that people were most likely to spend cash on luxury goods during the pandemic as a kind of “retaliatory spending.” 

People may have been more eager to consume luxury goods to relieve or counter the physical and mental stress caused by the severe pandemic. 

However, more and more people enjoy leisure activities such as traveling or camping rather than shopping to release stress. 

The eased restrictions on gatherings and masking may have provided more options for people to relieve their stress, causing a decrease in the so-called “Open Run.”

On the other hand, the decreased “Open Run” may not only result from the eased restrictions regarding the pandemic. 

Over the past months, there has been a considerable decrease in reselling prices of luxury fashion products over the past months. 

In the past, those who secured the newest products from such “Open Runs” were able to re-sell their products at a much higher price on the internet. 

However, the news reports claim that nowadays, the prices of such goods have severely decreased, where the reselling price of new products does not even reach the original price.

Such a phenomenon may have eliminated the incentive to secure the newest luxury fashion goods through these Open Runs.

Saemi Namgung
Grade 11
Fayston Preparatory School