Fashions for furry friends see surge in sales

Pet clothes are becoming a popular target for fashion brands, as more people willingly open up their wallets for their furry friends. The types of apparel, which ranges from underwear to jackets, has grown so diverse that some pet owners have a...

Dog models wear casual brand Hazzys' dog clothes made using the same design from existing clothes for people. [LF]

Pet clothes are becoming a popular target for fashion brands, as more people willingly open up their wallets for their furry friends. The types of apparel, which ranges from underwear to jackets, has grown so diverse that some pet owners have a separate wardrobe just for their animals.

Choi Yoo-kyung, a 42-year-old who lives in Yongin, Gyeonggi, bought three puffer jackets for her Pomeranian last winter because she wanted to keep the dog warm during their twice daily walks.

“There are many pet owners who have a separate closet for their pet’s clothes,” Cho said, adding that she spent relatively less money thanks to her dog having long hair.

Underclothing company BYC announced Thursday that it renewed its undershirt product for dogs with an antibacterial feature. The original version of the dog undershirt made with natural materials was launched in May last year. It received praise from many petfams, or people who consider pets as their family, as a new clothing catergory for dogs, and was sold out from all online malls in four days.

BYC's undershirt for dogs [BYC]

Pre-orders for three new thermal innerwear items closed earlier than scheduled when BYC released them in October. All three sold out three weeks after their launch.

“The red-colored undershirt for dogs was especially popular, and we had to place an additional order which was double the amount of our first one,” said a spokesperson for the company.

Fashion retailer LF’s casual brand Hazzys launched its first pet clothing lineup last month. It includes a polo shirt, cable knit sweater and an oxford shirt for dogs. They are pet versions of the brand’s bestselling series “Iconic,” to meet the demand of customers who wish to adorn their dogs in similar fashions to their own, the company announced.

“The recent demand for pet clothes includes not only warmth and differentiation but also a sense of kinship and style,” said Hazzys’ executive director Yoon Jung-hee.

The brand will introduce big-size clothes for larger dogs and winter clothes to diversify its portfolio, Yoon added.

Fashion e-commerce company Musinsa is also enjoying the growing petfam market. The revenue for its pet products last year rose 40 percent from the year before. Pet clothes grew 95 percent on year.

Fashion brand Yale's dog backpack [MUSINSA]

Brands that are popular among people are also topping the rankings for pet clothes. The top two brands in Musinsa’s pet category in the last three months were Yale — second in ranking for tops — and MLB — first in ranking for caps.

The pet product and service market has grown around 14.5 percent in size every year and will hit 4.57 trillion won ($3.52 billion) this year, according to the Korea Rural Economic Institute. The pace will raise the market size to exceed 6 trillion won by 2027.

The fashion trend for pets is mirroring the trend for baby clothes. Baby clothes in the past were mostly made by brands specializing in infant clothing, but adult clothing companies have been expanding their young adult and baby product lineups to meet the demand of customers who want to dress their kids similarly to themselves.

The strategy is to “boost the existing brand by encouraging purchases [of similar clothes], rather than to try scoring high revenue with a standalone pet clothing line,” said a source from the fashion industry. “It helps in developing a positive brand image, too, since the animal-friendly pet culture is considered classy.”

Seohyun of Girls' Generation dressed similiary to her dog on her Instagram feed. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The surge in the pet market comes on the back of demographic changes such as the increasing number of single-person households and the aging population.

The number of single-person households in Korea reached 9.46 million, or 40.3 percent of entire households, in 2021, according to the Statistical Yearbook published by the Ministry of Interior and Safety in August 2022. It was at 8.09 million, or 36.7 percent, in 2018 and at 6.67 million, or 33.3 percent, in 2011.

BY YOO JI-YOEN [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]