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Musinsa, Anta Sports form joint venture to tap Chinese fashion market
Musinsa Store Seongsu @ Daelim Changgo in Seoul's Seongdong District is crowded with visitors in this Sept. 13, 2024, photo. Korea Times file
By Ko Dong-hwan
Major fashion shopping platform Musinsa will establish a new fashion company in China with Anta Sports, a major sportswear company in the colossal East Asian market.
The Korean firm said Thursday that it expects to launch Musinsa China after passing regulatory approval next month.
Musinsa, which curates and sells designer goods primarily from Korean small- and medium-sized enterprises, will hold a 60 percent stake in the joint venture, with Anta Sports owning the remainder.
Musinsa China will oversee online and offline expansion of Musinsa's private brand, Musinsa Standard, and the physical locations for Musinsa in the Chinese market. Anta Sports will exercise strategic and financial oversight through representatives on the board of directors.
The partnership reflects the two companies' shared strategic interest in the rapidly evolving Chinese fashion market. Musinsa, a leading fashion platform with 10,000 curated brands, is actively supporting the entry of promising Korean designer brands in China.
The Korean firm said Musinsa China creates an opportunity to "leverage convergence of sportswear and fashion while addressing the segmented and dynamic needs of younger consumers."
A woman walks past an Anta Sports store in Beijing, Aug. 12. EPA-Yonhap
“This strategic investment partnership with Musinsa marks another step forward in advancing our ‘single-focus, multi-brand, globalization’ strategy. By integrating sportswear with fashion-forward design, we aim to better meet the preferences of China’s younger generation," said Wu Yonghua, co-CEO of Anta Sports.
“By leveraging our full value chain capabilities and proven ‘brand-plus-retail’ operating model in the sportswear industry, Anta Sports will empower Musinsa China to introduce Musinsa Standard and Musinsa stores to the Chinese market, bringing differentiated, style-conscious offerings to a new generation of sport and lifestyle consumers.”
Musinsa CEO Park Joon-mo said, “The partnership will combine Musinsa's extensive experience in fashion with Anta’s robust brand and retail management capabilities to tap into various retail channels and deliver differentiated brand experiences to Chinese consumers. We are looking forward to capturing the attention of young consumers in the dynamic Chinese market.”