"2025 Global IR Conference" Held in Ho Chi Minh City on the 29th
Kim Seokhwan: "Expanding Hansae Mobility and Increasing Apparel ODM Orders"
Kim Seokhwan, Vice Chairman of Hansae Yes24 Holdings, announced plans to raise Hansae Yes24 Group's sales to 5 trillion won by 2030. The strategy is to expand order volumes for Hansae Industrial and Hansae Mobility, thereby increasing overall sales, while gradually growing new business ventures related to artificial intelligence (AI) translation.
Profitability Weakens Amid Underperformance and Increased Investment at Core Subsidiary Hansae Industrial
On October 29 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Hansae Yes24 Group held its "2025 Global Investor Relations (IR) Conference," where it unveiled the group’s mid- to long-term growth strategy and provided updates on the management status of each subsidiary. Hansae Yes24 Group, with Hansae Yes24 Holdings as the holding company, includes the original design manufacturing (ODM) apparel company Hansae Industrial, fashion retail division Hansae MK, cultural content and publishing units Yes24 and Donga Publishing, and automotive parts division Hansae Mobility.
On the 29th in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, at the Hansae Yes24 Group's "2025 Global Investor Presentation," Vice Chairman Kim Seokhwan stated, "Last year, we newly incorporated Hansae Mobility to strengthen our foundation for future growth," adding, "With a business portfolio encompassing fashion, culture, education, and mobility, we are advancing beyond stable growth to become a future-oriented company." Provided by Hansae Yes24 Holdings.
This conference was held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the largest production base for Hansae Industrial, the group’s key subsidiary. Key executives in attendance included Kim Seokhwan, Vice Chairman of Hansae Yes24 Holdings; Kim Ikhwan, Vice Chairman of Hansae Industrial; Choi Sera, CEO of Yes24; Lee Wooksang, CEO of Donga Publishing; and Kim Panjo, Vice President of Hansae Mobility. Lim Donghwan, CEO of Hansae MK, did not participate in this year’s conference.
At last year’s investor relations event in October, Hansae Yes24 Group set a 2025 target of 2.8809 trillion won in sales and 207.2 billion won in operating profit. However, due to sluggish global economic conditions and weak apparel consumption, operating profit in the first half of this year appears to have underperformed. In the first half of this year, Hansae Yes24 Holdings reported sales of 1.6569 trillion won and operating profit of 21.3 billion won. While sales increased by 21% year-on-year, operating profit is estimated to have dropped by 75%. For the first half, Hansae Industrial accounted for 58% of group sales, followed by Yes24 (20%), Hansae Mobility (13%), and Hansae MK (7%).
Vice Chairman Kim Seokhwan explained, "Sales have increased with the inclusion of Hansae Mobility and improved performance at Hansae Industrial, but operating profit has declined." He cited investments in AI by Yes24 and Donga Publishing, as well as the reduction of inefficient brands at Hansae MK, as contributing factors.
5 Trillion Won in Group Sales Within 5 Years... Confidence in New AI Translation Business
On this day, Hansae Yes24 Group presented its vision to achieve consolidated sales of 5 trillion won by 2030. The strategy is for Hansae Industrial and Hansae Mobility to expand order volumes, while the education and cultural publishing divisions will leverage AI to enhance competitiveness and drive sustainable growth.
Hansae Industrial, which accounts for the largest share of sales, aims to strengthen profitability and secure new clients through vertical integration in Central and South America. Central America vertical integration refers to the establishment of a project in Michatoya, Guatemala, that covers the entire process from yarn and fabric production to garment manufacturing. Production close to the United States allows for flexible delivery times, and Guatemala’s mutual tariff rate is in the 10% range-lower than Vietnam’s 20%-providing tariff advantages. The Guatemala plant is scheduled to begin operations in the third quarter of next year.
The company is also diversifying its product lineup with high unit price activewear. Previously, Hansae Industrial established a foundation for entering the chemical fiber sector by acquiring the U.S. textile manufacturer Texollini last year. Hansae Industrial is pursuing a strategy of collaborating not only with major brands like Lululemon but also with emerging activewear brands in their early growth stages. Vice Chairman Kim Ikhwan of Hansae Industrial stated, "Beyond responding to tariffs, global buyers increasingly prefer ODM companies that offer one-stop services from design to logistics. The Guatemala project will become a core tool in this regard," adding, "With growing orders for activewear brand items such as Lululemon, we expect a significant increase in sales next year."
On the 29th, at the Hansae Yes24 Group's '2025 Global Investor Presentation' held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Vice Chairman Kim Ikhwan explained the business strategy of Hansae Co., Ltd. Provided by Hansae Yes24 Holdings.
In the fashion retail division, Hansae MK is reducing inefficient brands. Due to sluggish stock performance and ongoing borrowing, the financial structure has deteriorated, so the plan is to maximize operational strength through brand streamlining by the first half of next year. Earlier this year, Hansae MK announced that it would discontinue the "Curly Sue" brand after the spring and summer seasons and focus on kids’ brands "Moi Molen" and "Play Kids Pro (Nike Kids)." In August, Hansae MK revised its 2024 sales and operating profit forecasts downward, projecting sales to decrease from 290 billion won to 248 billion won and operating losses to increase from 2.7 billion won to 21.4 billion won.
In the cultural content and publishing division, Yes24 plans to reduce logistics costs in the first half of next year by utilizing the Paju Smart Logistics Center. The Paju Smart Logistics Center is the largest in the industry, with a total floor area of 52,800 square meters-the equivalent of seven soccer fields. Equipped with 544 autonomous mobile robots, it is expected to handle more than 30 million logistics orders annually. As the largest facility in Southeast Asia, logistics costs are projected to decrease by about 15% by 2027. Additionally, hyper-personalized services using AI will be expanded.
Security measures are also being strengthened. Yes24 announced the establishment of a cloud-based disaster recovery (DR) center in response to this year’s hacking incident. CEO Choi Sera of Yes24 explained, "While I cannot disclose the exact program names, we have implemented security programs and established a dedicated organization following the hacking incident." Yes24’s projected sales for this year are 650.5 billion won, a decrease of about 20 billion won from last year’s 671.1 billion won.
Donga Publishing has pledged to become a leading edtech company by building a personalized learning ecosystem, including AI-based textbooks, reference books, and learning platforms.
Hansae Mobility, which operates the automotive parts business, is tightening its focus on expanding orders despite U.S. tariff policies and high exchange rate risks. The company’s expected order volume for this year is 1.5 trillion won, a sharp increase from 341.3 billion won last year and 763.6 billion won in 2023. Hansae Mobility plans to further develop its half shaft technology, which accounts for 60% of sales, to widen its technological lead and to develop alternator technology to supply power to electric devices.
The company is also diversifying its production bases. To respond to U.S. tariff policies, Hansae Mobility is preparing to expand its plant with completion targeted for 2027. CEO Kim Panjo of Hansae Mobility stated, "We are building a plant in Uzbekistan, aiming to begin operations next year. As order volumes are rapidly increasing, if the plant becomes operational quickly, Hansae Mobility’s sales could rise significantly."
On this day, CEO Kim Seokhwan highlighted the AI translation service launched by Grip Labs, a related company. Grip Labs is a company he personally invested in and established in 2019.
CEO Kim Seokhwan stated, "As consumer demand for K-content and K-culture grows, the use of AI translation is increasing. However, as proper translation is still lacking, we plan to utilize Grip Labs’ AI translation service as a new business model and aim to generate sales in the trillion-won range by 2030."
Strengthening Shareholder Returns... Hansae Yes24 Holdings Sets Minimum Dividend at 250 Won
On this day, Hansae Yes24 Group also expressed its commitment to enhancing shareholder returns across its subsidiaries. The holding company, Hansae Yes24 Holdings, announced it would set a minimum dividend of 250 won and establish the dividend record date after the annual general shareholders’ meeting to increase predictability for shareholders.
Hansae Industrial proposed a minimum dividend of 500 won and said it would consider increasing dividends by 5%. Yes24 set a minimum dividend of 200 won and explained that it would also introduce interim dividends and consider a 5% increase in dividends.
Vice Chairman Kim Seokhwan stated, "We will continue to enhance shareholder value. Under the board of directors, we have established a sustainability management committee to set the group’s mid- to long-term direction, and in line with our environmental management vision, 'Towards Eco-Green,' we are systematically managing each subsidiary’s eco-friendly management activities."
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