Fashion Industry Also Sees a 'Breeze' from Reopening... Sales Soar as Outings Increase

Fashion Industry Revitalized After Social Distancing Lifted
More People Seeking Outfits for Going Out Instead of Casual Wear
Formal Wear Gains Popularity with Return to Office and Increased Gatherings
Marketing Competition Heats Up Over Summer Fashion Market

Citizens visiting Namsan in Seoul on the 11th, when the spring atmosphere is in full bloom, are enjoying their time. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Office worker Lee Joong-ho (34) made up his mind and visited a department store last weekend. After enduring over two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and working from home, he had no clothes to wear. Until now, he had only bought simple clothes from online shopping malls, but since the easing of social distancing measures, he has started paying attention to his attire again. Lee said, "Living with changed patterns for two years, I gained a lot of weight and only had very comfortable clothes, so I ended up buying everyday wear all at once," adding, "As gatherings and appointments increase, I naturally find myself interested in clothes."

With the lifting of social distancing, various events and gatherings have increased, leading to a rise in demand for outing clothes, bringing vitality to the fashion industry.

According to the industry on the 27th, during the period when social distancing was maintained due to COVID-19, comfortable 'one-mile wear' such as athleisure looks were popular. Utility wear emphasizing practicality and mobility also gained attention due to the popularity of car camping and camping. On the other hand, recently, as the full recovery of daily life began and work-from-home ended, social activities increased across all fields, leading many consumers to seek various clothes such as casual outfits suitable for outings and formal wear for gatherings.

Sales of fashion companies have also been on the rise around the time of the social distancing lift. From the 1st to the 24th of this month, Beanpole Men, operated by Samsung C&T Fashion Division, saw new product sales increase by 24% compared to the same period last year. Beanpole Ladies jumped over 37%. Particularly popular are products that can be used for both formal looks and casual looks suitable for TPO (time, place, occasion) such as outings and excursions.

Maestro, LF’s representative menswear brand, also saw suit category sales grow by more than 30% compared to the previous year during the same period. Kolon FnC’s menswear brand Series recorded a 24% sales increase from the 18th to the 24th of this month compared to last year. Brenwood’s sales also rose by more than 25%, with casual jackets and formal suits frequently worn as work clothes jumping over 50%. Shinsegae International reported that major women’s wear brands such as Studio Tomboy, Ilail, Delarana, and J. Cut saw sales increase by 12.2% to 33% month-on-month this month.

With an earlier-than-expected heatwave approaching, competition among distribution and fashion companies to dominate the summer fashion market is expected to intensify. Many are planning discount events and promotions to capture explosive pent-up consumer demand, as well as online marketing using social networking services (SNS) and offline events, which have been relatively scarce until now.

An industry insider said, "With the advent of the endemic era, the transition to daily life recovery has accelerated, and with the weather warming up, clothing consumption suited to specific purposes has naturally increased," adding, "We expect an increase in customer-tailored offline events such as various concept pop-up stores and experiential events."

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