Olympic Coat Craze

[Anchor Lead]

The sale of PyeongChang Winter Olympics edition down coats ended on Thursday. Hundreds of people slept outside of stores to buy the jacket, creating a rare spectacle. Here’s an inside look at the PyeongChang down coat phenomenon.

[Pkg]

Here at a department store in Seoul...hundreds of people are seated on the ice cold floor. They have rolled out mats and paper boxes and are layered up in thick coats and blankets. They are willing to sleep here just to buy the last remaining stock of the popular PyeongChang Winter Olympics long down coat.

[Soundbite] Gwon Hyeong-taek(Paju Resident) : "I heard it was nice and warm, so I want to get one too."

Some folks even camped for three days.

[Soundbite] (Customer waiting to buy jacket (Voice modified)) : "I arrived here Monday. It will be 4 days by Thursday."

Morning eventually dawns and the department store begins to hand out number tickets for a wait list.

[Soundbite] "You are No. 59. Congratulations."

Some customers get into a scuffle to get an early number.

[Soundbite] "Why are you cutting in? (Customer, please stop. Sorry about that.) The person who cut in, please just leave."

With the final 3,000 coats all sold, the PyeongChang winter down jackets have finally ended its sale. The immense popularity of the coats caused a sensation and much of it is owed to the affordable price. It cost just a quarter of a regular long down jacket. The rarity of being a limited Olympic edition and celebrity marketing have also helped.

[Soundbite] Prof. Lee Jung-hee (Chung-Ang University) : "People stand in line because it's a limited edition. They are willing to go through some trouble to acquire something others can't."

Among middle and high school students who are particularly sensitive to the latest fads, the PyeongChang down jacket is almost regarded as their second school uniform.

[Soundbite] (High School Student) : "All students have one. Nearly everyone. About two thirds?"

Some critics worry the long down coats will follow the same path of other down jackets of ending up having to deal with a large amount of leftover inventory. At any rate, the fashion industry appears to be drawing more attention especially this winter.