Boosterz, a subsidiary of FSN, a KOSDAQ-listed company, announced on the 25th that it has completed a stake investment in Ujootek, which manufactures and sells the comfortable shoe brand 'Le Mouton.' Through this, both companies plan to solidify their position in the domestic shoe market while accelerating cooperation for Le Mouton to leap beyond a leading domestic shoe brand to become a global brand.
Ujootek began product development with the idea of 'Socks Lease' shoes and developed H1-TEX fabric optimized for shoes by blending Australian Merino wool and polyester yarn in the ideal ratio.
Le Mouton is a domestically developed shoe brand based on this technology. It features wool fabric patented not only in Korea, the United States, and Europe but also in Japan, offering various functions such as breathability, elasticity, durability, water repellency, antibacterial properties, and heat retention. Utilizing eco-friendly materials such as oxidatively biodegradable outsoles and insoles recycled from waste rubber, it is a comfortable shoe brand that is also beneficial to the global environment. Through this product quality, it has established itself as a brand with solid customer loyalty, demonstrated by low return rates and high repurchase rates.
Boosterz and Ujootek began collaborating in a partnership form in October 2022. Since then, they have conducted various marketing activities to promote the Le Mouton brand and products through close cooperation leveraging each company's strengths. As a result, they have rapidly increased brand awareness and achieved explosive growth. The excellent technology and comfort of Ujootek’s products, combined with uncompromising quality control standards and Boosterz’s efficient 360-degree marketing, have enabled both companies to achieve rapid mutual growth.
The synergy of their collaboration is also evident in key indicators. Starting with ranking first in shopping search rankings in the comfortable shoe category, they also achieved first place in the sneaker category shopping search, surpassed 30,000 customer reviews on Naver Store, and maintained an average rating around 4.9. Additionally, on social media platforms including communities, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram, more than 1,000 wear reviews are posted daily, spreading word-of-mouth about the excellent product quality and growing into a national shoe brand. Recently, Le Mouton received the highest scores in brand attachment/trust, repurchase intention, and recommendation to others at the 2024 Brand Customer Loyalty Awards, and was selected as number one in the comfort shoes category.
With this stake investment as a turning point, both companies plan to expand sales from online to offline, firmly establishing themselves in the domestic market worth 10 trillion KRW, while also actively entering the global market estimated at 600 trillion KRW. Le Mouton has already conducted global test sales after opening overseas malls, achieving meaningful results with simultaneous orders from 29 countries. After selling on Amazon, it was also selected as one of the ‘Best Wool Sneakers to Buy Right Now’ by Rolling Stone, confirming its potential in overseas markets.
Seo Jeonggyo, CEO of Boosterz, said, "Le Mouton is a highly promising domestic shoe brand that possesses excellent product quality and a brand philosophy to create the most comfortable and eco-friendly shoes." He added, "During the collaboration period of over a year, I personally experienced the affection and passion of Ujootek’s employees for the brand and their thorough quality control to provide the best comfort to customers, which led to this investment decision."
He emphasized, "Especially, the trust shown by Ujootek’s management during the collaboration process, their confidence in creating Korea’s most comfortable global shoe brand, and the rapid synergy results through the partnership led to this investment beyond just a partnership. Through this investment, we will further strengthen the trust between the two companies and maximize synergy to grow Le Mouton into a global shoe brand recognized for competitiveness not only in the domestic market but also overseas."
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