Musinsa, South Korea’s largest online fashion platform, said Wednesday it has formed a China-based joint venture with Anta Sports, the country’s biggest sportswear group, marking its official entry into the neighboring fashion market.
Musinsa will hold a 60 percent stake in the joint venture named Musinsa China, with Anta Sports owning the remaining 40 percent. The deal is expected to close by the end of next month, pending regulatory approval.
The new venture will oversee both online and offline expansion of the Musinsa Standard private label, as well as the retail presence in China. The company, which carries more than 10,000 brands on its platform, said it will also support the entry of promising Korean designer labels into the market.
Anta Sports, known for its multibrand strategy, will provide strategic and financial oversight through its representatives on the joint venture’s board of directors.
“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,” Musinsa CEO Park Joon-mo said.
“We are looking forward to capturing the attention of young consumers in the dynamic Chinese market,” Park added.
According to Wu Yonghua, co-CEO of Anta Sports, the partnership marks another step in advancing the group’s “single-focus, multibrand and globalization” strategy.
“By integrating sportswear with fashion-forward design, we aim to better meet the preferences of China’s younger generation,” he said, pledging to deliver style-conscious products to a new generation of sport and lifestyle consumers.
Musinsa’s entry into China marks its second overseas expansion after Japan, where it set up a local unit in 2021.
The company plans to open its first select shop in Tokyo next year, with an offline multibrand store in Shanghai also in the works. It is also eyeing further expansion into markets such as Singapore and Thailand.
minmin@heraldcorp.com
