Nina Jobst
Research expert covering South Korea
Apparel industry in South Korea - statistics & facts
South Korea's capital city Seoul is developing into a fashion capital, hosting events like the Seoul Fashoin week. The country's fashion market size stood at over 47 trillion South Korean won, surpassing the value of the previous year. The Korean fashion market had declined due to the global economic downturn and the coronavirus outbreak. In the meantime, the luxury goods and bags market, the trendy street casual wear market, and the sports shoe market were leading the growth recovery of the fashion market. Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the market for comfortable clothing such as loungewear and athleisure wear has grown significantly due to the increasing population working from home and staying at home.
Contrary to the stagnation of the formal wear market, casual wear occupies an increasing proportion of the Korean apparel market. While many apparel items recorded negative growth, the casual wear market has recorded a consistently positive growth rate over the past years. In the Korean casual wear market, T-shirts accounted for the largest portion, followed by pants, shirts, and jackets. In terms of purchase channels, Korean consumers preferred to buy their casual wear in brand or outlet shops. Japanese brand Uniqlo had regained its footing after losing the leading position as the most purchased casual brand in South Korea due to the 2019 boycott of Japanese products. Together with domestic brands, such as Hazzys and Beanpole, it was competing for the lead. Other than brand products, both male and female consumers stated to purchase non-branded casual wear the most.
Formal wear market vs. casual wear market
The Korean apparel market has grown significantly over the past 20 years, and the market structure has experienced constant change. The formal wear market, which once occupied more than half of the fashion market in the early 2000s, now accounts for less than a fifth of the market. Due to the influence of the business casual trend, consumption of formal wear items shifted to the casual wear and sportswear market. In addition, the consumption of formal wear is expected to further stagnate in the future following the social restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korean male consumers purchased their formal wear mainly at department stores, followed by outlets and online shopping. For female consumers, department stores were the most preferred place to purchase their business wear, too, with outlet malls, and brand stores following.Contrary to the stagnation of the formal wear market, casual wear occupies an increasing proportion of the Korean apparel market. While many apparel items recorded negative growth, the casual wear market has recorded a consistently positive growth rate over the past years. In the Korean casual wear market, T-shirts accounted for the largest portion, followed by pants, shirts, and jackets. In terms of purchase channels, Korean consumers preferred to buy their casual wear in brand or outlet shops. Japanese brand Uniqlo had regained its footing after losing the leading position as the most purchased casual brand in South Korea due to the 2019 boycott of Japanese products. Together with domestic brands, such as Hazzys and Beanpole, it was competing for the lead. Other than brand products, both male and female consumers stated to purchase non-branded casual wear the most.
Online market and the big 5 fashion platforms
In part due to high internet penetration and fast internet speeds, the Korean online apparel market has continued to grow. Online apparel sales accounted for the one of the largest proportion of online shopping transactions, following food related sales, home appliances, and travel sales. While offline fashion companies are facing a crisis, online fashion companies are recording sales growth despite the recession. Especially, the "big 5" fashion platforms including Musinsa, Zigzag, Ably, Brandi, and Wconcept have attracted young consumers. The total transaction value of the big 5 platforms was forecast to reach over 4.7 trillion South Korean won in 2021, with every platform growing in transaction value. Musinsa, the leading online fashion platform with a transaction value of approximately 2.3 trillion won in 2021, was recognized as the 10th unicorn company in Korea. Based on the increasing number of cross-border transactions and the growing popularity of K-fashion, the Korean apparel market is expected to grow further.
