By Park Jin-hai
Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee's daughter, Lee Seo-hyun, has taken the helm of the company's struggling fashion business.
In Samsung's huge management reshuffle on Tuesday, Lee was promoted to president of Samsung C&T's fashion group.
She had previously been leading the management strategy for Cheil Worldwide and Samsung C&T's fashion division.
Lee is expected to orchestrate Samsung's fashion business including fostering its SPA brand 8 Seconds at home and abroad, competing against global fashion moguls like Uniqlo and H&M.
The SPA brands, which stand for specialty retailer of private label apparel, refer to fast fashion brands like Zara and H&M. Low-priced trendy collections are a fast-expanding market.
Lee, a graduate of the Parsons School of Fashion, joined the company in 2002, working at Cheil Industries, now merged into Samsung C&T. While building her career in the fashion business, she has been credited with raising the company's brand value.
There, she tapped renowned Korean fashion designers Chung Ku-ho and Jung Wook-juun as creative directors and launched the Kuho and JUUN.J brands, promoting local brands globally. She has also turned Bean Pole into Korea's representative high-end apparel brand.
Lee's big task now is to expand the market for 8 Seconds at home and abroad. Starting with China, the company plans to launch the brand in other countries.
However, her task is not easy. Sales from the fashion business totaled 1.9 trillion won in 2014. Lee needs to push this to 10 trillion won by 2020, to honor the pledge Samsung made when it merged Samsung S&T and Cheil Industries in September.
The problem is that Samsung's fashion business has entered a downturn, as has the fashion industry in general. Samsung C&T's fashion unit posted a 22 billion won operating loss in the third quarter.
Therefore, all eyes are on whether Lee can turn around the fashion company.
Samsung has strong faith in Lee's leadership.
"Usually the owner family doesn't come forward to take the helm of a business suffering from losses," a Samsung C&T official said.
"In that sense, Lee's promotion means the company is showing its strong determination not to retreat against global fashion brands."
 |
| Lee Seo-hyun, President of Samsung C&T's fashion group |
In Samsung's huge management reshuffle on Tuesday, Lee was promoted to president of Samsung C&T's fashion group.
She had previously been leading the management strategy for Cheil Worldwide and Samsung C&T's fashion division.
Lee is expected to orchestrate Samsung's fashion business including fostering its SPA brand 8 Seconds at home and abroad, competing against global fashion moguls like Uniqlo and H&M.
The SPA brands, which stand for specialty retailer of private label apparel, refer to fast fashion brands like Zara and H&M. Low-priced trendy collections are a fast-expanding market.
Lee, a graduate of the Parsons School of Fashion, joined the company in 2002, working at Cheil Industries, now merged into Samsung C&T. While building her career in the fashion business, she has been credited with raising the company's brand value.
There, she tapped renowned Korean fashion designers Chung Ku-ho and Jung Wook-juun as creative directors and launched the Kuho and JUUN.J brands, promoting local brands globally. She has also turned Bean Pole into Korea's representative high-end apparel brand.
Lee's big task now is to expand the market for 8 Seconds at home and abroad. Starting with China, the company plans to launch the brand in other countries.
However, her task is not easy. Sales from the fashion business totaled 1.9 trillion won in 2014. Lee needs to push this to 10 trillion won by 2020, to honor the pledge Samsung made when it merged Samsung S&T and Cheil Industries in September.
The problem is that Samsung's fashion business has entered a downturn, as has the fashion industry in general. Samsung C&T's fashion unit posted a 22 billion won operating loss in the third quarter.
Therefore, all eyes are on whether Lee can turn around the fashion company.
Samsung has strong faith in Lee's leadership.
"Usually the owner family doesn't come forward to take the helm of a business suffering from losses," a Samsung C&T official said.
"In that sense, Lee's promotion means the company is showing its strong determination not to retreat against global fashion brands."
