Matin Kim’s Japanese popups explode in popularity

[Courtesy of Matin Kim]

K-fashion is becoming increasingly popular among young people in Japan, who naturally take as they immerse themselves in K-pop and Korean content and consider it “cool,” “hip,” and “trendy.”

This growing interest is translating into actual consumption. Matin Kim, a designer fashion brand popular among young people in South Korea, is seeing tremendous success when holding pop-up events in Japan, with daily sales at a recent pop-up held in Nagoya saw averaging around 100 million won ($75,000). Similarly, its pop-up in Osaka in March 2024 raked in a total of 700 million won in sales over the course of a week.

Matin Kim, known for blending streetwear with comfort, offers chic casualwear at reasonable prices, thus increasing its appeal for young consumers in both Korea and Japan.

Located in the heart of Nagoya, the major shopping mall “La Chic” allocated most of its first-floor space to the Matin Kim pop-up. The store was bustling with customers, with long lines forming over the weekends, wrapping around the pop-up store, and most customers were women in their early twenties.

During this pop-up, Matin Kim showcased new products and signature items that caught Japanese customers’ attention. From the opening day, crowds flocked to the store, resulting in long queues throughout the pop-up period. The prime location allocated to Matin Kim by the shopping mall La Chic further signifies the brand’s significance in the Japanese market.

Matin Kim plans to expand its global presence by launching more pop-up events in Japan throughout the year, with a pop-up scheduled at Parco Shibuya, Tokyo’s largest MZ shopping mall, in May 2024.

Climbing up from its start as a blog market in 2015, Matin Kim has received investment from Hago Haus since 2021, propelling it into a brand with a yearly revenue of 50 billion won in 2022.

Hago Haus took over global operations in 2023, propelling Matin Kim into a mega-brand surpassing 100 billion won in annual revenue, and the goal for 2024 is to hit 150 billion won in sales. The brand introduced a premium line targeting customers in their thirties called “KIMMATIN” in February 2024.