Michael Cromer’s financial difficulties allied to the Asian crisis had sent the brand into a tailspin. But even during its darkest days, MCM remained a big brand in South Korea – and it still is. Last year it generated total sales of US$65 million in that country alone, mostly from the duty paid channel. As Ms Kim puts it: “It wasn’t really a brand failure – it was a founder’s failure. But it was a very dramatic fall.”