Growth in Leisure Sportswear... Cowell Fashion Achieves Highest Quarterly Operating Profit

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] Cowell Fashion achieved its highest quarterly operating profit, driven by growth in the leisure sportswear segment.

Cowell Fashion announced on the 30th through a preliminary earnings report that its consolidated financial statements for the second quarter of this year recorded sales of 120.9 billion KRW and operating profit of 26.1 billion KRW. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 4.4% and operating profit rose by 11.5%. Notably, the operating profit reached the highest level since the company's founding.

By business division, the fashion division posted sales of 109 billion KRW and operating profit of 24.8 billion KRW, marking increases of 2.4% and 9.8% respectively compared to the previous year. The operating profit margin reached 22.8%. The company explained that the fashion division achieved qualitative growth by recording the highest operating profit among all quarterly results through product and channel mix. The electronics division maintained steady momentum, recording sales of 11.9 billion KRW and operating profit of 1.3 billion KRW.

The high margin achievement in the fashion division is attributed to growth in the leisure sportswear segment. The sales proportion of leisure sportswear rose by 5 percentage points year-on-year to 36.3%. The company stated, "The diversification of categories within existing sportswear brands, which have accumulated long-term planning know-how, combined with the performance of newly launched brands at the end of last year, increased sales contribution," adding, "Golf wear sales grew by 72% compared to the same period last year, establishing itself as the driving force behind the growth of leisure sportswear."

The home shopping channel sales proportion of the fashion division slightly decreased to 78% compared to the same period last year, while the e-commerce channel proportion grew by 6% year-on-year to 18% in sales.

Subsidiaries also recorded strong performances, contributing to Cowell Fashion’s growth. The subsidiary Bunk’s sales in the second quarter of this year grew approximately 53% year-on-year, and the golf wear brand Fairlier, incorporated into the group in the fourth quarter of 2020, saw sales increase by 200% compared to the previous quarter.

A Cowell Fashion representative said, "We plan to expand five additional brands, including Calvin Klein Golf and Bonstella," and analyzed, "We will continue to maintain growth potential and high margins through continuous acquisition of premium brands, diversification of categories, and expansion and mix of distribution channels."