CEO Kwon Sung-yoon: "Transforming into the World's No.1 Merrell LifeWear"

Acquired Merrell Korea Business Rights with Investment from US Headquarters

"Positioning as a New Brand Leading Outdoor Footwear"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Merrell, the world's number one outdoor footwear brand that has maintained a dominant market position in Korea, is preparing for a new leap forward with a new owner. Amid the severe market downturn in the outdoor industry, Merrell has fired the starting shot for revival by emphasizing 'lifewear.' At the center of this is Seongyun Kwon, CEO of MK Korea and second-generation owner of Bangbang Apparel, the pioneer of denim in Korea.

Meeting with CEO Kwon on the 10th, he said, "The investment by Merrell's US headquarters, Wolverine Worldwide, in MK Korea reflects Merrell's ambition to open a second golden era as a lifewear brand in Korea, having already secured a global lead in the outdoor market." Leveraging the US headquarters' investment, Kwon acquired all of Merrell's domestic business rights from Hwasung at the end of last December, excluding human resources assets. During this process, he also successfully attracted a large-scale investment from Wolverine Worldwide.

When Hwasung entered court receivership last year and decided to sell the Merrell business, the US headquarters, unwilling to give up the Korean market, partnered with CEO Kwon. Throughout the acquisition of Merrell's business rights, marathon meetings and decision-making sessions were held regarding the brand's direction and business development methods, and Kwon worked intensively for over four months, even sharing office accommodations with the US headquarters. He said, "The US headquarters views Korea as a key market in Asia and has a very strong will to expand its business here."

In his late 50s, CEO Kwon is the eldest son of Jongryeol Kwon, chairman of Bangbang Apparel, which once led the domestic denim industry in sales. He emphasized, "Our goal is to strengthen the identity of being the world's number one outdoor footwear brand while repositioning Merrell as a lifewear brand." He added, "The domestic fashion market has undergone continuous changes with the emergence of powerful players such as Uniqlo, which was the first in the domestic fashion industry to achieve sales of 1 trillion won, and Musinsa, which has established itself as a dominant distribution channel among millennials. Based on Merrell's differentiated technology, we will lead the transformation of the domestic outdoor market, which is currently at a crossroads."

The full-scale business launch is scheduled for this August, when the new fall season line will be introduced. To prepare, the company has completed staffing in design, planning, sales, and marketing. CEO Kwon said, "We formed the design team on January 2nd, right after acquiring the business rights, and started developing new fall and winter products." Finished shoes will be directly imported, while apparel will be operated through licensing agreements.

To ensure stable business operations, the plan is to raise the proportion of shoe sales to about half while reducing the outdoor line to around 30%. CEO Kwon explained, "Although Merrell has outstanding product strength in outdoor segments such as trekking shoes, the traditional domestic outdoor market is already in decline. Our strategy is to expand Merrell's traditional outdoor strengths across the entire lifestyle wear sector."

For 'age down' strategies, various collaborations with domestic and international brands are also being planned. Currently, collaboration talks are underway with well-known overseas sneaker brands. Since the brand inherently targets middle-aged and older consumers, there are plans to strengthen the previously lacking online distribution capabilities. The company is preparing to open its own online mall and plans to significantly increase affiliated malls in the future. CEO Kwon said, "We plan to enter the online select shop Musinsa as early as next month," adding, "Around the same time, we will also enter Wonderplace to expand our touchpoints with younger consumers."