Samsung Fashion Division: How It Survived a Tough Year with 2 Trillion Won Revenue

Samsung C&T’s fashion division — still holding the No. 1 spot despite a sluggish industry — took a tough hit last year. Now it faces pressure to boost profitability both at home and abroad.

Like many rivals, the division is pushing further into international markets while aiming to protect its large domestic share and sharpen its competitive edge.

Its big bet is on trend-driven private labels. That means cutting underperforming brands decisively and focusing on new labels with real staying power.

Last year's sales momentum faltered

Despite a sector weakened by low consumer confidence and unpredictable weather, the fashion division still topped KRW 2 trillion (approximately $1.5 billion) in sales last year.

The division posted KRW 2.0042 trillion in sales last year (approximately $1.50 billion). Over the same period, top rivals LF and F&F recorded KRW 1.9562 trillion (approximately $1.47 billion) and KRW 1.896 trillion (approximately $1.42 billion), respectively.

Even the market leader couldn't escape weak results: sales slipped 2% year over year. After breaking into the KRW 2 trillion range in 2022 and riding an upward trend, growth stalled last year.

The division’s sales climbed steadily from KRW 1.5455 trillion in 2020 (approximately $1.16 billion) to KRW 1.7669 trillion in 2021 (approximately $1.33 billion), KRW 2.0012 trillion in 2022 (approximately $1.50 billion), and KRW 2.0510 trillion in 2023 (approximately $1.54 billion).

This year’s sales target: KRW 2.1 trillion

The division is targeting KRW 2.1 trillion in sales this year (approximately $1.58 billion), aiming to balance stronger fundamentals with top-line growth as it pursues new breakouts.

Samsung C&T is doubling down on established labels like Beanpole, Galaxy and 8Seconds while expanding its international reach.

Launched 13 years ago, Beaker has become one of Korea’s top select-shop brands. As of June it operates 44 stores and has posted annual sales growth of more than 10%.

Menswear brand Galaxy holds about 40% of the domestic formal menswear market and has topped department-store men’s wear for over a decade.

Still, the company needs a breakthrough beyond the domestic market’s limits. Most K-fashion rivals are turning overseas: LF has made international expansion its top priority this year, and F&F, The Handsome, Kolon FnC and Musinsa are also aggressively targeting foreign markets.

Through its China unit, Beanpole runs roughly 70 stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In September last year it opened Beanpole’s first standalone overseas store at the REEL department store in Shanghai.

Casual label 8Seconds has returned to overseas markets after a 10-year hiatus. It opened its first store at SM Mall of Asia in Manila on the 9th and plans to open a total of three stores this year.

Focusing on new brand development

To build a portfolio of big, long-lasting brands, the fashion division launches private labels every year. Fashion is trend-driven, so it’s natural for some brands to emerge and others to fade.

New private labels typically start online so consumers can validate them. From 2022 through this year, the company introduced Sand Sound (2022), The Aperture (2023), Anggae (2024) and Stitchcoms Blue (2025).

Sand Sound and The Aperture posted year-on-year sales gains of roughly 60% and 80% last year, respectively. Anggae expanded into the company’s SSF Shop online mall and entered six overseas select shops across the U.S., China and Japan last year.

The recent shutdown of private label Cotello was part of a larger push to focus on new-brand development. Cotello closed after four years due to lower-than-expected consumer uptake.

A Samsung C&T fashion division official told The Leaves by phone, “If an in-house brand fails to meet its three- or five-year plans, we reassess its medium- to long-term prospects and may decide to wind down the business, as we did with Cotello. We launch private labels every year, and we bring in even more overseas brands through select shops.”

Reporter Dalnim Park pmoon55@tleaves.co.kr