Musinsa opens first shoe concept store in Seoul

(Musinsa)

Musinsa Co. is opening its first shoe-focused select shop, Musinsa Kicks, on Friday.

According to Musinsa on Thursday, Musinsa Kicks will open near Exit 9 of Hongik University Station in Mapo District, western Seoul.

The store will span three above-ground floors, covering 1,124 square meters, and feature products from more than 80 brands, including Nike, Adidas and Salomon. Musinsa aims to establish the store as a landmark for sneaker enthusiasts, reflecting its origin as an online shoe community.

“The store brings together our shoe curation capabilities and platform technology,” said a Musinsa official. “We plan to open additional locations in areas such as Seongsu and Gangnam later in the first half of the year.”

The launch comes amid rapid growth in Musinsa’s shoe category. Last year, transaction volume in the shoe segment on Musinsa’s online store jumped 80 percent from the previous year.

The market landscape has also played a role, as Korea’s shoe select shop sector has increasingly become dominated by Japanese retailer ABC-Mart Inc.

While ABC-Mart has solidified its top position in both sales and store count, competitors have been closing locations.

ABC-Mart’s sales in Korea reached 658.9 billion won ($454 million) in 2024, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier, with about 330 stores nationwide.

Musinsa Kicks differentiates itself with a “shoe wall” lined with footwear and themed product curation, offering a distinct atmosphere compared with existing multi-brand shoe stores. As with Musinsa’s other offline locations, customers can scan QR codes attached to products to check member prices, in-store inventory, customer reviews, and styling content.