South Korea news and archive

South Korea's Handsome accelerates expansion in France, plots UK growth

South Korean group Handsome, a subsidiary of Hyundai Department Store Group, is considering continued expansion in Europe, with discussions underway for regular entry into several major French department stores and wholesale contracts with global distributors, including Harrods in the UK. A Handsome official stated: "Paris serves as a...

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Amid legal action: F&F eyes acquisition of TaylorMade

After the launch of what was alleged to be a nonconsensual sales process for TaylorMade, F&F has now announced its intention to pursue a potential acquisition of the US golf brand. The company has appointed Goldman Sachs as its exclusive financial advisor to look into a takeover of TaylorMade, noting that it was assessing an “array of strategic...

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Seoul asks Temu, AliExpress to pull children's products over safety concerns

The Seoul city government has asked online retail giants Temu and AliExpress to suspend sales of certain children's products over safety concerns, saying Friday that some goods far exceeded local limits for hazardous substances. Chinese e-commerce titans like Shein, Temu and AliExpress have seen a surge in global popularity in recent years,...

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F&F considers legal options over “unilaterally initiated sale” of TaylorMade

Two Korean investors are battling over the ownership of golf apparel brand TaylorMade. South Korean fashion company F&F Co. Ltd. has accused private equity firm Centroid of “unilaterally” initiating a sale of the US brand “without obtaining F&F’s prior consent”. The move is “prompting serious concerns”, F&F said in a statement, with the company...

Fairs

Post Archive Faction named guest designer of Pitti Uomo

Florentine trade show Pitti Uomo has announced that South Korean menswear brand Post Archive Faction (PAF) will be a guest designer for the upcoming 108th edition, which will take place from June 17 to 20. The South Korean avant-garde sportswear and outerwear brand, founded by young Korean designers Dongjoon Lim and Sookyo Jeong, will stage a...

Retail

Birkenstock strengthens brand presence in South Korea through launch of dedicated website

German footwear brand Birkenstock is strengthening its brand presence in South Korea by launching a new, country-specific ecommerce website. A leading market for fashion in East Asia, Birkenstock sees “great potential” when it comes to growing its presence in the country as the industry is characterized by a range of young, creative local...

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Sephora exits South Korea after yielding to stiff competition

LVMH-owned cosmetics giant Sephora has closed up shop in South Korea after struggling to capture a solid foothold in the market. The closure comes four years on from when the brand first stepped into the region, with the opening of a flagship store in Seoul’s Gangnam district which was followed by five more store openings. The move had initially...

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Allbirds secures distribution deal in Canada and South Korea

Sportswear and footwear brand Allbirds has announced two new agreements with distributor partners in Canada and South Korea as it looks to move towards a third-party model. The company, which had initially adopted a direct go-to-market strategy, made the shift as part of its ongoing Strategic Transformation Plan which it announced earlier this...

Fashion

Gucci merges South Korean heritage with its own design codes for Cruise 2024 collection

Italian luxury house Gucci took to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea, this week to present its Cruise 2024 collection, where it attempted to merge its own historic design codes with those of the East Asian region. In what the luxury label said was a “shared style language”, the collection looked to reflect Gucci’s own community brought...

Fashion

Louis Vuitton showed its Pre-Fall 2023 collection from Seoul's iconic Jamsugyo Bridge

If there was a sense of unease at Louis Vuitton’s first catwalk presentation in Seoul, South Korea, it was the chill that came from the Han River, which flows through the heart of the city. But more likely it was the immersive set on the iconic Jamsugyo Bridge, designed by Hwang Dong-Hyuk, director of Squid Game, that reflected the incredible...

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Fashion

Is South Korea luxury's next bet?

South Korea has established itself as a promising market for luxury brands, and is quickly catching up with China and Japan. With its increasing affluence, South Korea has attracted significant investment, which has been boosted by free trade agreements with the European Union. The growth in spending power of its citizens is also a driving force...

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Fashion

Stuffed animals, three stripes and live performances: Highlights and trends from Seoul Fashion Week

The designers at Seoul Fashion Week create very bold designs and experiment with different silhouettes, asymmetry and patterns. Although black plays an important role in many of the collections, colours and bright creations can also be seen. On the other hand, there are dark looks like Iryuk's, which are reminiscent of the gothic scene, and...