Private Brands Soar in the Fashion Industry During Economic Downturn

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Fashion companies are expanding their private brands (PB) to overcome the recession caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These brands are proving to be not only more profitable than the commission rates from brands in offline stores but also key drivers for both defending performance and securing growth momentum.

According to industry sources on the 14th, Shinsegae International recently raised the annual sales target for 'Tenmons,' a PB brand of its online mall SI Village. The new target is about four times the sales figure initially set at the brand's launch. Launched in February during the height of COVID-19, Tenmons achieved three times its target sales within just over two months. The Masterfit jacket from Tenmons became so popular that it had to be reproduced every month.

This product, exclusively released on SI Village as an online-only item, overcame the limitations of online channels where customers cannot try on items by providing detailed content on materials, product images, styling images, and care instructions such as washing methods. The concept was designed as if a department store shop master were explaining beside the customer, resulting in high customer satisfaction.

LF launched the first PB line after renewing its men's fashion select shop 'Raumman.' The company plans to expand its premium PB product range to increase loyal customers. As part of this strategy, LF increased the production volume of PB products for its women's fashion select shop Raum by about 50% last year.

Fashion-specialized online malls Musinsa and W Concept have also strengthened their PB products. Musinsa set an aggressive goal to achieve annual sales of 700 billion KRW within five years for its PB brand 'Musinsa Standard' and is focusing on diversifying its product range. Musinsa Standard, which achieved about 63 billion KRW in sales last year, maintains a top annual ranking within the Musinsa online mall with basic products that do not follow trends.

W Concept plans to focus on strengthening its PB men's specialized line 'Frontrowman' collection this year. A W Concept official said, "The women's PB brand Frontrow has established itself as a core line," adding, "This year, we plan to focus on strengthening the men's line."

An industry insider said, "As clothing consumption shifts from offline stores to online, online-exclusive private brands are emerging as new growth drivers," and added, "Despite COVID-19, online-exclusive PB products are gaining great popularity, and the movement to strengthen PB brands among fashion companies is expected to accelerate."

LF Raumman's PB Products

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