CEO Junho Choi Promoted to Executive Vice Chairman of Fashion Group Hyungji... Accelerating 'Global Hyungji'

Strengthening the Position of the 2nd Generation Management System
Leading Performance Improvement of Hyungji Elite and Castelbajac
Prospects for New Business Development and Expansion into Overseas Markets

"The responsibility is immense."

On the 1st, Choi Jun-ho, who was promoted to Executive Vice Chairman of Fashion Group Hyungji, lowered his posture considerably. The burden is heavy as he must oversee the group’s operations amid challenging internal and external business environments, achieve independent results, and discover future growth engines. As the eldest son of Choi Byung-oh, Chairman of Fashion Group Hyungji, this appointment is expected to further strengthen the second-generation management system.

Choi Jun-ho, who was promoted to Executive Vice Chairman of Fashion Group Hyungji (left), is taking a commemorative photo after receiving the appointment letter from his father, Chairman Choi Byung-oh.
[Photo by Fashion Group Hyungji]

This promotion came about two years after he became president of Castelbajac and Fashion Group Hyungji in 2021. Since his inauguration as president, Choi has focused on recovering the group’s underperforming businesses and securing new growth drivers. A representative example is the sports merchandising business promoted by Hyungji Elite. As a baseball enthusiast, Choi paid close attention to and came up with ideas for this business, expanding supply by providing goods to professional baseball teams such as SSG Landers and Hanwha Eagles, and signing contracts with popular entertainment programs like "Strongest Baseball."

Hyungji Elite, a company with a fiscal year ending in June, saw steady performance in its core student uniform business, with individual sales reaching 47.9 billion KRW this year, about a 20% increase from the previous year. Sales from the sports merchandising business nearly doubled from 5 billion KRW last year to 9.9 billion KRW. Choi said, "We confirmed that the demand from enthusiasts who want to purchase products related to their favorite teams and players is solid, not just watching baseball, and judged that there is sufficient growth potential. We plan to continuously expand the goods business linked not only to domestic baseball but also to famous overseas professional soccer clubs."

Choi’s characteristics also include improving the structure of underperforming businesses by gaining experience in major group operations over 10 years and developing a sense of management, as well as actively taking on challenges such as targeting global markets. After joining Fashion Group Hyungji in 2011, he gained field experience in purchasing and production and took on the role of chief financial officer, leading efforts to improve performance.

Since becoming president of Castelbajac in May 2021, he has strengthened efforts to restore the brand identity, including design, by re-hiring experts familiar with the brand heritage to get the brand back on track. Thanks to these efforts, the declining Castelbajac achieved profitability for two consecutive quarters this year, with operating profit in the second quarter growing 147.6% compared to the same period last year.

This brand serves as the spearhead for Hyungji Group’s global market expansion, including Southeast Asia. Starting with the United States in April this year, Choi accompanied President Yoon Suk-yeol on overseas trips as part of the economic delegation, exploring possibilities for local market entry. Fashion Group Hyungji, which appointed him president in December of the same year, also achieved profitability within a year. Operating profit last year was 12.2 billion KRW, showing a 50.4 billion KRW improvement compared to the previous year’s loss, and sales increased by 25.3 billion KRW to 230 billion KRW.

A Hyungji official said, "The appointment of the Executive Vice Chairman reflects not only performance improvements through management innovation and new business development but also achievements in leading overseas market entry in the U.S., Southeast Asia, and Europe. We expect that the realization of ‘Global Hyungji’ led by Choi will accelerate." For example, Castelbajac USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Castelbajac, completed registration with the U.S. Federal Procurement Data System (SAM) in April, laying the foundation for entry into the 10 trillion KRW U.S. military clothing market. Based on this, they have set a goal to expand Castelbajac’s overseas sales ratio to 50% by 2028. Hyungji Elite also expects annual sales of over 100 billion KRW next year, driven by new businesses promoted by Choi.

Choi said, "While maximizing synergy among affiliates to continue growth, I will focus on nurturing new businesses and expanding overseas operations. I will spare no effort to realize Global Hyungji."

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