Musinsa and W Concept Capturing MZ Generation Soar Amid Recession

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Jo] Musinsa and W Concept, the top two online fashion malls in Korea, continue to experience rapid growth despite the recession caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). This is interpreted as a result of establishing themselves as powerful shopping channels among the MZ generation, which has strong consumer power.

According to industry sources on the 6th, the transaction amount of Musinsa's top 100 brands this year (as of the end of October) increased up to 10 times compared to the same period last year. Among the brands listed, 'Miller Classic' sold out all prepared stock on the day of release for its YouTuber collaboration product. Penfield, which showed a 15-fold growth in transaction amount last year, also continued its rapid growth this year amid COVID-19, showing a fourfold growth rate as of the end of October.

A Musinsa official said, "The partnership between brands and Musinsa, with products and marketing released exclusively or in limited editions, laid the foundation for mutual growth," and added, "The increase in new member inflow also contributed to the growth."

Musinsa is the number one online fashion select shop in Korea based on transaction amount, hosting about 5,000 brands (as of the end of October). The cumulative number of members reaches 7 million. Last year's transaction amount was 900 billion KRW, and this year it is expected to exceed 1 trillion KRW.

Wooshinsa, a separate category created exclusively for women's clothing brands, has nearly 3,500 brands listed. Compared to 2,100 brands at the end of last year, the number of listed brands increased by 67% in less than a year. Although smaller in scale than Musinsa, its growth rate is fierce.

According to transaction data from January to September for Wooshinsa-listed brands, brands such as Instantfunk have seen transaction amounts increase more than fivefold compared to the previous year. Sculptor and Liolgre also grew more than twice in the past year. Global brands like Louis Quatorze, Barrel, and Dekke steadily increased their transaction volume, achieving cumulative sales exceeding 100 million KRW as of the end of September this year.

W Concept, which was mainly focused on women's clothing, is strengthening its men's line and fiercely chasing Musinsa and Wooshinsa. W Concept's transaction amount has continued its rapid growth, rising from the 100 billion KRW range in 2017 to 150 billion KRW in 2018, and surpassing 200 billion KRW last year.

Although W Concept is the second-largest company with a significant gap compared to Musinsa's transaction amount exceeding 900 billion KRW last year, its ambitions are extraordinary. This year, it is accelerating the expansion of its cosmetics business by launching its own beauty brand (PB) 'Hustler' for the first time among online select shops.

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