[Global Reach Specialty Stores] The Hats Celebrities Rush to Buy: Small Batch Production and No Sales Are the Secrets

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] "We avoid discount sales to ensure that wearing Blackblonde feels valuable." Choi Eunsoo, CEO of Blackblonde, a street fashion brand famous for its custom ball caps, is steadfastly maintaining a 'no sale' strategy that even large corporations find challenging. While unveiling artwork collections every year, once the season ends, the items are discontinued without hesitation. This is his unique insistence on maintaining the brand's quality, represented by rarity and excellence.

On the 5th, in an interview with Asia Economy, Choi Eunsoo, CEO of Blackblonde, recalled the brand's launch, saying, "During the initial phase of trying out the brand, I experimented a lot. I wore custom hats myself, and people around me asked if they could purchase them." After selling 10 products as a trial, customer response was positive, and subsequent orders explosively increased to nearly 2,000. It was the moment he confirmed the potential of custom items.

Blackblonde is led by CEO Choi Eunsoo, who has 15 years of experience and a background in a major fashion corporation. He dreamed of starting his own business after gaining over 10 years of experience in fashion planning, production, and distribution, and launched his first brand with acquaintances in 2012. After going solo in 2018, he introduced the brand Blackblonde. The brand releases new products twice a year, showcasing 'First and Second Artwork Collections' that contain stories and messages in two rounds each season.

The custom ball cap released two years ago remains Blackblonde's signature product. The caps feature graffiti covering the entire surface or incorporate objects like pins or fancy items on the brim. Produced in small quantities, they offer high rarity and allow for unique styling. The use of eco-friendly raw materials and digital printing techniques is also notable. Recently, a 'custom denim jacket' featuring artwork gained attention after a famous celebrity introduced it on their social network service (SNS).

CEO Choi said, "More than 10,000 custom ball caps and denim jackets have been sold in a year, and the ball cap once generated sales of 70 million KRW in a single day." He added, "Although not custom items, sweatshirts and pants are also steady sellers." Thanks to this, the overall brand sales have been doubling every year.

Since the products are handmade, producing items with consistent quality is the most challenging part. CEO Choi said, "Focusing on quality means the work takes a long time and requires a lot of effort, but the quality remains high." He added, "Although handmade, we consistently place drawings and objects in the same positions to maintain uniform quality as if mass-produced."

As a respectable K-fashion brand, Blackblonde also dreams of expanding overseas. Overseas customer inquiries are increasing through its own sales channels, including a site built on the global e-commerce platform Cafe24 and SNS. European customers are the most frequent buyers, with purchases also coming from the United States, Singapore, the Philippines, and China. Recently, through an acquaintance from Tanzania, Africa, the brand launched an 'Africa Collaboration Collection' in a pop-up format at a local department store. CEO Choi said, "In the future, we will expand into Europe, the fashion capital, as a K-fashion brand," adding, "We plan to firmly build a loyal fan base and focus on globalizing this native brand."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.