[Asia Times = Kim Min-sol] Castelbajac is rebranding and stepping up its international expansion.
On March 18, golf-apparel label Castelbajac announced it will change its corporate name to Hyungji Global.
Castelbajac held an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on March 13 and approved the name change and related measures. As a major shareholder of Fashion Group Hyungji and of affiliate Hyungji Elite, Hyungji Global plans to take the lead in the group’s global operations.
Affiliate Hyungji Elite has been expanding its footprint beginning in China and moving into Southeast Asian markets. Hyungji Global intends to act as a launchpad to support that overseas push. In particular, Hyungji Elite — a key group affiliate — aims to enter the premium school-uniform market by leveraging Hyungji Global’s supply and distribution networks across China and Southeast Asia.
Hyungji Global has been laying the groundwork for global growth, including acquiring PMJC, the French firm that served as Castelbajac’s international headquarters, and operating it as a subsidiary. In 2023, it teamed up with Thailand’s largest retailer, Central Group, to target ASEAN markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam. The company also supplies products through partnerships with local fashion distributors in China and Taiwan, and is expanding its presence in overseas hotspots like Dubai — where golf travel demand from tourists, including Russians, has been rising — via local distributors.
Vice Chairman Choi Jun-ho, who heads Hyungji Global, has actively pursued international outreach. He accompanied Chairman Choi Byung-oh on a trade delegation to China and, beginning with a U.S. visit in April 2023, joined government economic missions to Indonesia, Vietnam, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Recently, he was the only executive from a Korean fashion company invited to President Trump’s inauguration.
A Hyungji Global spokesperson said the company chose the new name to position itself for a full-scale leap into the global fashion market and to lead the group’s overseas expansion. The spokesperson added the company will continue supporting the domestic golf market and do everything it can to help K-fashion secure its role as a leading global player.
