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This paper aims to examine the structure of buyer‐supplier relationship quality perceived by small‐sized fashion businesses with their major supplier.

On the basis of the literature review and in‐depth interviews, a testable relationship quality model is proposed. Two hundred and eighty stores located in Dongdaemun fashion market in Seoul, Korea, are surveyed and 233 complete responses are used in the analysis to test hypotheses.

The major findings includes the critical role of product design, product quality, and a supplier's honesty in the building of relationship quality. As the relationship ages, geographical proximity, communication, and design factors become more important in determining relationship quality and behavioral intentions, while product quality and power balance factors became less important.

Only one side of the perception is analyzed. The data is collected from single informants from each buying fashion store. Instead of using longitudinal data, a cross‐sectional research design is employed.

Among the proposed anteceding factors to relationship quality, product design is found to have the strongest impact on the buyer's perception of relationship quality. Thus, product suppliers in Dongdaemun market should focus on improving their capability to produce superior designs.

Dongdaemun market has been successfully positioned as a main hub for the distribution of non‐brand fashion products in Korea. This paper is the first to investigate the channel members' relationships and behaviors in Dongdaemun market.