[Global Mega Hit Item] Nongshim RedForce, eSports Uniform 'Sold-Out Streak'

Le Coq Sportif and High-Quality Uniform Development
Annual Membership Products for Online Fans Also 'Popular'

Oh Ji-hwan, CEO of Nongshim RedForce. (Photo by Cafe24)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] "The number of fans simultaneously watching League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is about 300,000 to 400,000, with roughly half being overseas viewers. In the future, esports products have the potential to surpass the traditional sports market."

Oh Ji-hwan, CEO of Nongshim RedForce, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 12th, "The player uniforms released every season are popular," adding, "The 'Summer Season' uniforms, which come with international tournament qualification rights, have sold out every time they are released." He continued, "We are collaborating with the major sports brand Le Coq Sportif to develop high-quality uniforms that are functional yet lightweight and comfortable to wear," and explained, "We also offer many charming and collectible items such as tumblers, cups, and AirPods cases."

The annual membership product, introduced for the first time in the industry to fans watching games online, is also popular. It provides various products and unreleased player photos as content, and if the team performs well, various products from the parent company Nongshim are given as prizes. Last year, it was sold to a limited 100 people and sold out instantly, so this year the number was increased to 300. CEO Oh said, "Last year, we sold 500 sets of the Nongshim Red Box product, which combined our intellectual property (IP) with Nongshim’s snack packaging, and that product also sold out," adding, "We are considering ways to link with the parent company, which has excellent steady-selling products, in the future."

Nongshim RedForce is attracting customers by linking and displaying products from its own mall on official social networking services (SNS) using the Instagram Shops feature of the global e-commerce platform Cafe24. CEO Oh emphasized, "It is good that even without separate marketing, we can naturally attract fans to our own mall by sharing impressive news such as the team’s victories on SNS."

In the future, Nongshim RedForce plans to transform its shopping mall to make it easier for global fans to purchase products. CEO Oh stated, "As a relatively new team, we are still forming a global fandom, and although we have not yet provided advantages in shipping fees, more than 10% of our total sales come from overseas," adding, "We plan to improve accessibility for overseas fans, who make up more than half of LCK viewers."

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