K-fashion brands push overseas as domestic market saturates

(Paris Samaritaine department store’s Instagram)

South Korean fashion companies are accelerating their push into global markets as growth at home slows and competition intensifies. With the domestic market widely seen as saturated, brands are expanding store networks abroad and entering new countries to secure fresh growth engines.

According to industry sources on Monday, Handsome, the fashion arm of Hyundai Department Store Group, will open a System Homme store this month at Galeries Lafayette in Paris.

Galeries Lafayette is France’s largest department store chain, and Handsome has been focusing on expanding its Paris operations. The company opened its first local store in the city in 2014, marking a full-fledged entry into global markets. It has also become the only South Korean fashion company to participate in Paris Fashion Week for seven consecutive years.

Another South Korean fashion company, LF, is stepping up overseas expansion. The company plans to open a Hazzys flagship store in Shanghai this month. Hazzys already operates more than 530 stores in China and is preparing to enter India with the opening of local outlets.

Samsung C&T is expanding international operations for brands including 8Seconds, Beanpole and Juun.J. 8Seconds opened its first store in the Philippines last July and has since expanded to three locations. The brand plans to further increase its offline footprint while also rolling out online sales channels.

(Musinsa)

Ahead of a planned initial public offering, Musinsa opened its first overseas store in December on Huaihai Road, one of Shanghai’s main fashion districts. The company plans to add three more stores in the first half of this year in areas including Nanjing Road, Xujiahui and Hangzhou, with a longer-term goal of operating more than 100 stores in China over the next five years.

An industry official said overseas markets offer far greater room for expansion. “The domestic fashion market is already saturated, and weak consumption has added pressure,” the official said. “Global expansion presents significantly more growth opportunities.”