Acceleration Boosted Wusinsa Transaction Amount Exceeds 250 Billion Won... Surpassing W Concept

'Storm Growth' of Solo Boom Amid COVID-19 Recession

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Musinsa's women-only fashion store Woosinsa has shown a significant increase in transaction volume this year despite the domestic fashion industry's downturn. As a latecomer in the women-only fashion mall sector, Woosinsa has surpassed the annual transaction volume of the original W Concept, causing tension in the industry.

According to related industry sources on the 6th, Woosinsa's transaction volume exceeded 250 billion KRW as of the end of September this year. The fashion consumption channel rapidly shifted from offline to online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Woosinsa has established itself as a powerful shopping channel among the highly consuming MZ generation, continuing its rapid growth. While major domestic fashion brands' performances have all declined, Woosinsa alone is experiencing a boom.

Woosinsa is a women-only shopping mall launched by Musinsa, the number one online fashion mall in Korea, in 2016 to capture the female customer base. Currently, the number of brands listed is about 3,500, a 67% increase in less than a year compared to 2,100 at the end of last year. Although smaller in scale than Musinsa, its growth rate is formidable.

The growth in Woosinsa's performance can be attributed to the increase in new female members. Woosinsa, which operates an integrated membership system with Musinsa, saw the proportion of female members among total members increase by about 45% compared to the previous year. In particular, new sign-ups of women in their 30s, who have strong purchasing power, increased by more than 83% year-on-year, driving the overall transaction volume growth. The age distribution of all members is 73% in their 20s and 30s, 15% teenagers, and 11% in their 40s and 50s.

According to transaction data from January to September for brands listed on Woosinsa, brands such as InstantFunk have seen their transaction volume increase more than fivefold compared to the previous year. Sculptor and LiolG also grew more than twice in the past year. Global brands like Louis Quatorze, Barrel, and Decke steadily increased their transaction volume, achieving cumulative sales exceeding 100 million KRW as of the end of September this year. Both emerging designer brands and major global fashion brands have played a role in driving transaction volume and overall growth.

The industry is paying attention to the fact that Woosinsa has surpassed W Concept, the original women-only fashion mall. Woosinsa exceeded W Concept's annual target transaction volume of 250 billion KRW for this year, and Musinsa is evaluated to have maintained its number one position in the women's fashion sector as well.

Musinsa and W Concept, which rank first and second respectively among online fashion malls, have rapidly grown by targeting men's and women's fashion as their core audiences, but are now competing by expanding their women's and men's lines respectively. Recently, both have developed beauty categories, entering the cosmetics business and strengthening their private brand (PB) businesses.

Riding on this growth momentum, Woosinsa has raised its transaction volume target for next year. A Musinsa official stated, "The co-growth strategy of sharing Musinsa's growth know-how with listed brands laid the foundation for early achievement of transaction volume goals," adding, "We plan to gradually expand into the feminine and formal fashion markets, which have high demand among women aged 25 to 35, while encompassing unisex brands that have rapidly risen during the COVID-19 era."

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