April 20, 2023

-Brand success drives platform growth?1993 Studio's standout performance

-Women’s fashion brands also on the rise

-Offline exposure to expand through pop-ups and experiential events this year

[Dailyan = Reporter Na-Young Lee] Musinsa is accelerating efforts toward co-prosperity with its partner brands. The company is aiming to build a virtuous ecosystem where brands can focus on their core business while Musinsa supports them through content production and marketing, thereby driving performance and expanding their customer base.

According to the industry on April 20, Musinsa has been reinforcing both online and offline marketing efforts to raise brand awareness and increase sales for its partner brands.

In particular, the company hosted major events such as “Mujinjang Sale” and “Next Fashion 2022” last year in response to the post-pandemic reopening demand, helping partner brands achieve significant growth.

As a result, the success of these partner brands directly contributed to Musinsa’s sales performance, pushing its annual revenue past 700 billion KRW last year.

According to Musinsa’s audit report released on April 13, the company recorded consolidated annual revenue of 708.3 billion KRW in 2022, marking a 54% increase from the previous year. Excluding subsidiaries, standalone revenue was 645.2 billion KRW with an operating profit of 53.9 billion KRW.

Considering that most fashion platforms are still mired in deficits, Musinsa’s strong sales and transaction growth have cemented its position as the industry leader.

One standout partner brand is the casual label “1993 Studio.” With its vintage 90s-inspired sweatshirts and hoodies ranking among the top sellers, the brand’s annual sales surged more than ninefold last year.

In terms of monthly sales rankings on Musinsa Store, 1993 Studio made it into the top 50 brands. Building on its success, the brand recently launched a new label called “Nassau,” further accelerating its expansion.

Growth among women’s brands has also been remarkable. Popular among women in their 20s, handbag brand “Stand Oil” is exclusively available on Musinsa Store apart from its own website and has achieved annual sales of nearly 100,000 units.

Its annual revenue on Musinsa Store alone has more than doubled, reflecting a steep upward trajectory.

The women’s fashion brand “Frenda” has also shown rapid growth, achieving significant success within a year of joining the Musinsa platform. With its sporty, vintage-inspired sweatshirts and jogger pants enjoying high sales volumes, Frenda ranked in the top 20 among women’s brands on Musinsa based on monthly sales.

Other fashion brands such as “Sculptor” and “Love is True” also saw their sales more than double.

Korean brands' international performance via Musinsa has also drawn attention. For example, women’s fashion brand “Mardi Mercredi,” which entered the Japanese market with Musinsa in the second half of 2021, achieved 3 billion KRW in annual sales by 2022?its first year in Japan?demonstrating its potential overseas.

This year, Musinsa plans to expand its business in multiple directions to drive sales growth both domestically and globally for itself and its partner brands.

While last year focused on launching new specialty sections and enhancing existing services to sustain rapid growth, this year the emphasis will be on strengthening sales of brands within those specialty areas and enhancing the services themselves.

Additionally, Musinsa will continue to expand its offline brand exposure through pop-up stores and collaborative marketing efforts. The company plans to host pop-up events in partnership with brands at Musinsa-operated offline venues such as Musinsa Terrace.

A Musinsa representative stated, “We made aggressive investments in new business ventures such as global expansion last year to sustain high growth,” and added, “This year, we will focus our efforts on strengthening offline marketing opportunities for partner brands.”