Shinsegae International's Domestic Fashion Revived... Sales Target Exceeded 100% and First Ever Awards Ceremony

Bold Business Restructuring Strategy Bears Fruit in Domestic Fashion Sector... First Awards Ceremony Held
Accelerated Non-Face-to-Face Marketing... Strong Performance Expected to Continue in Q4

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Shinsegae International, which boldly restructured its domestic fashion division in July amid the full impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), has succeeded in turning around its performance.

On the 13th, Shinsegae International's domestic fashion division held a reward and award ceremony for related executives and employees to celebrate exceeding the sales target for October. This was the first time a separate award ceremony was held for the domestic fashion division. Although the COVID-19 situation remains, sales of in-house fashion brands have all turned to an upward trend compared to the previous year since October.

According to internal data from Shinsegae International, Juicy Couture, a women's wear brand pursuing a premium strategy by launching the premium line Black Label, showed a high growth rate with sales increasing by 90.1% compared to October last year. Women's wear brands Studio Tomboy, J. Cut, and BOBV saw sales increases of 15.2%, 7.2%, and 2.5%, respectively, and the higher-priced women's contemporary brands Delarana and Ilaile also comfortably achieved 100% of their sales targets.

A Shinsegae International official explained, "We promoted a business restructuring of the domestic fashion division in July this year, and the results are becoming visible from the fourth quarter."

In July, Shinsegae International pursued a business restructuring targeting the emerging new consumer group, the MZ generation (Millennials + Z). First, it acquired Delarana and Ilaile, which were operated by Shinsegae Department Store, and reinforced the women's wear lineup, which was centered on casual brands, with high-end contemporary brands to expand the customer base. Shinsegae International plans to nurture Delarana and Ilaile as mega brands to further strengthen the competitiveness of its women's wear business.

Additionally, it launched new online-exclusive brands Tenmence and Bplemment to target the MZ generation. The seasonless brand Tenmence has gained great popularity, achieving more than four times its sales target so far, and Bplemment has also received a good response by newly securing customers in their teens and twenties.

Marketing through non-face-to-face channels is also being strengthened. Since September this year, Shinsegae International's women's wear brands have been regularly conducting live broadcasts on Naver Shopping Live two to four times a month, actively expanding sales through communication with the MZ generation. The number of viewers per session ranges from 10,000 to 30,000, providing not only additional sales but also significant brand promotion effects. Along with strengthening online channels, about 40 offline stores out of a total of 400 stores, including BOBV, J. Cut, Studio Tomboy, and Komodo, which had overlapping commercial districts or low efficiency, were boldly closed to improve business efficiency.

As this efficiency strategy hit the mark, sales in the domestic fashion division, which had been struggling due to COVID-19, turned to an upward trend starting last month. The sudden cold weather from October has further raised expectations for sales growth. In the winter of 2017, when the cold wave reached record lows, the long padding syndrome emerged, leading to high padding sales and excellent performance for most fashion companies. With morning temperatures dropping below freezing, sales of coats and padding are expected to surge, giving further momentum to the sales growth of the domestic fashion division.

A Shinsegae International official said, "The internal atmosphere is very encouraged by the fact that sales are increasing compared to last year despite the depressed consumer sentiment due to COVID-19," and emphasized, "We will minimize opportunity losses through strategic product management and strengthen non-face-to-face marketing to secure maximum sales."