The Clothing Market Changed by COVID-19... Comfortable Clothes Popular for Staying Home
With With-Corona, Outing Clothes Shopping Resumes... Chilly Weather Also Plays a Role
[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] "Remote work ends from November. Except for some job categories, everyone is requested to come to the office."
Reading the notice on the company intranet, Kang Suhyun (32) opened her wardrobe with the expectation of returning to normal life after a year. Every season change, she always thought, "I have nothing to wear," but this year she really had no clothes to wear. Thanks to golf she learned during her leisure time along with remote work, half of her wardrobe was golf wear, and since she worked from home, it was filled only with comfortable leggings and casual clothes. Kang said, "Most of the clothes I bought during the remote work period were either comfortable clothes like training wear or golf wear," adding, "With the sudden chilly weather, I have only a few outfits suitable for office wear, so I think I need to go shopping this weekend."
Only Golf Wear and Leggings Sold Well
According to the Korea Federation of Textile Industries on the 28th, the total domestic fashion market size this year is estimated at 40.8783 trillion won. It decreased by 3 trillion won from the 43 trillion won scale in 2018. This is because the clothing industry was hit hard by COVID-19. However, the golf apparel and leggings markets continue to show steep growth.
Golf brand WAK, operated by Kolon Industries FnC, recorded sales growth of 200% from January to October this year compared to the previous year. Considering the high growth rate last year as well, this year's growth is even greater. LF's domestic brand Champion recently launched golf apparel targeting the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z). Samsung C&T Fashion Division's women's wear brand 'Kuho' and Hyundai Department Store Group's Handsome women's wear brand SJYP have also expanded their business areas into golf apparel one after another.
The number of people looking for comfortable clothing such as leggings has also increased significantly. The 'Fleece-lined Leggings' from Jeximix, the number one brand in the leggings market, saw sales increase by 900% from the 1st to the 20th of this month compared to the previous month over about three weeks. Jeximix supplies leggings and other clothing to female dancers appearing on the popular dance survival competition program 'Street Woman Fighter (Swoopa)'. Products featured on the show have seen daily surges in sales. Although priced more than twice as high as conventional leggings, the premium market is expanding as more consumers prefer high-quality products with good cost-effectiveness (performance relative to price) amid the COVID-19 revenge consumption trend. Jeximix is steadily increasing new stores in major department stores and outlets.
Tailwind for Men's and Women's Apparel Markets
Thanks to remote work, the men's and women's apparel markets, which had experienced consecutive declines for one and a half years, are enjoying a boom as they return to normal life. According to Shinsegae Department Store, sales of men's and women's apparel from the 1st to the 25th of this month increased by nearly 13% compared to the previous year.
Knitwear that can be worn casually instead of suits is popular. The recent monthly sales of 'Ilail,' a knit specialty brand by Shinsegae International, increased by 147% compared to the same period last year. The knit products of 'Kuho,' a brand operated by Samsung C&T Fashion Division, have also seen a rapid increase in sales recently, leading to restocking.
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