The Absolute Leader in Women's Fashion Market 'Hansome'
Full-Scale Entry into Golf Wear Market
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] Hansome, the fashion subsidiary of Hyundai Department Store Group, the absolute leader in the women's clothing market, is making a full-scale entry into the golf wear market this year.
According to the fashion industry on the 7th, Hansome will launch a new luxury golf wear brand, "Lanvin Blanc," in line with this fall and winter season. Hansome signed an exclusive domestic license agreement with Lanvin in 2007 and introduced Lanvin Paris, Lanvin Collection, and Lanvin Sports. It is the first time in eight years since 2014's Lanvin Sports that a new brand has been created using Lanvin's license rights.
Hansome is known as the "absolute leader in women's clothing," having established an unrivaled brand value in the women's clothing market. Leveraging this strength, Hansome set the ratio of women's to men's clothing for Lanvin Blanc at 70 to 30. The previously launched men's brand Lanvin Sports was discontinued after four years due to poor performance.
The reason Hansome is making a full-scale entry into the golf wear market is that it judged the growth potential to be high. According to the Korea Leisure Industry Research Institute, the golf population exceeded 5.15 million last year, surpassing 5 million for the first time ever. The golf population in their 20s and 30s increased by 35% from the previous year to 1.15 million. The domestic golf wear market size is expected to grow from 5.1 trillion won in 2020 to 6.3 trillion won this year. Major fashion conglomerates such as Shinsegae International, LF, and Samsung C&T Fashion Division expanded their golf wear businesses last year.
Hansome is betting on the high-end golf wear market by utilizing Lanvin's premium brand image. Since golf is a high-priced sport, consumer price resistance is relatively low. As the number of consumers who hesitate to purchase high-priced products only if satisfaction is high increases, the growth rate of high-end golf wear brands is steep. Kolon Industries FnC's brand J.FORE surpassed 50 billion won in sales in its first year of launch last year. After October, J.FORE stores ranked first in sales in the golf wear zone at major domestic department stores.
The price range of Lanvin Blanc products is expected to be set similarly to J.FORE. Targeting the high-end market, tops and bottoms will be priced between 300,000 and 600,000 won, windbreaker jumpers between 600,000 and 1,000,000 won, and padding between 1,200,000 and 2,000,000 won. Fierce competition is expected in the high-end golf wear market this year. Along with Lanvin Blanc, French brand A.P.C. Golf, luxury brand Philipp Plein Golf, and Bentley Golf, which uses an automobile brand, will launch this year. Hansome plans to quickly enter the market by utilizing Hyundai Department Store's distribution network. A Hansome official said, "We are preparing a golf brand aiming for a launch in the second half of this year, and detailed plans are being established."
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