Kakao Entertainment to Lead Samsung Lions MD Business... Transplanting K-pop Expertise

Overseeing planning, production, and distribution of official club merchandise
Integrating K-content fandom strategies

Kakao Entertainment will oversee the official merchandise (MD) business for the professional baseball team Samsung Lions. The company plans to expand the fandom business know-how it has accumulated in entertainment sectors such as K-pop and webtoons into the sports domain.

Kakao Entertainment announced on February 4 that it has signed an MD business partnership with Samsung Lions. Under this agreement, Kakao Entertainment will be solely responsible for the overall business, from planning and production to distribution and sales of merchandise utilizing the intellectual property (IP) of the club and its players.

The core strategy is to turn merchandise into lifestyle items. The company will move beyond the existing uniform-centered lineup and broaden the range to items that can be used in everyday life. It plans to launch replica uniforms, folding cushions, patches, and photo card pouches, and is also planning limited-edition products that emphasize scarcity through collaborations with other IPs owned by Kakao Entertainment. The strategy is to transplant the trendy planning capabilities of the entertainment industry into baseball merchandise to stimulate fans' desire to collect.

The distribution channels will also be diversified. Online, Kakao Entertainment will open a dedicated Samsung Lions section this month within its global K-culture fan platform "Berriz." Through Berriz, which supports multiple languages, overseas payments, and international shipping, the company plans to improve accessibility not only for domestic fans but also for baseball fans abroad. The offline team store will reopen in a renewed form next month to coincide with the opening of the 2026 KBO regular season. It will be redesigned as a space where fans can experience the club's brand, going beyond a simple retail outlet.

A Kakao Entertainment representative said, "Professional baseball, which has built up a unique fandom over decades, is a highly attractive IP market," adding, "We will provide a differentiated experience by applying the global fandom business capabilities we have accumulated in K-pop and drama to the sports sector."

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