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In their place are emerging new brands that are sensitive to design, market trends and above all else ㅡ customers' fast-changing needs.
Rolex has suffered from sluggish growth in Korea for several years, contrasting with the performances of Vacheron Constantin, Omega, IWC and Cartier. Ferragamo has also wrestled with a consistent decline in operating profit.
The Italian brand, once considered a must-have item among well-heeled figures, shut its store at Galleria, a luxury department store in southern Seoul, in March, in what market observers described as a "shocking and humiliating" event for the company.
In response, the company opened new stores in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and Daejeon in an attempt to rekindle its growth in Korea with gains from suburban areas.
Rolex's sales growth at Lotte Department Stores, the country's biggest department store chain, is heading downward.
It reported 28.6 percent growth in 2011 and 19.9 percent the following year. Yet the figure plunged to 5.6 percent in 2013. The company showed 4.2 percent growth during the January-August period.
In the first eight months of the year, Vacheron Constantin made 33 percent year-on-year growth in sales and Omega had 31.5 percent. IWC had a 15.8 percent hike in sales with Cartier registering 10.1 percent, according to Lotte.
"In the past, Rolex was one of few luxury watch brands available at department stores. But that is not the case now," a Lotte official said. "Unlike the past, today's (deep-pocketed) customers want to reveal their personality and identity with a watch, which means they don't want an old-fashioned or typical form of luxury watch."
Ferragamo has suffered from a similar trend. Sales of the Korean unit of the Italian shoe maker reached 97.2 billion won in 2011, with 21 billion won in operating profit. This rose to 98.4 billion won and 111.9 billion won last year. But its operating profit plunged to 10.7 billion won last year, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service.
Industry insiders say the firm's opening of the stores in Cheonan and Daejeon hint that the company is trying to make up for its losses in Seoul with gains in rural areas where people are getting richer but still have limited access to luxury goods and services.
"We've opened the stores believing there is big growth potential in areas outside Seoul," a Ferragamo official said.
In July, Ferragamo launched an online shopping mall, discarding its long-held sales policy that its products are available only at department stores and duty free stores.
"We've opened the website to attract young customers," the official said. "Things are going smoothly."
