Korean apparel retailer F&F to produce global K-pop stars

South Korean outdoor clothing retailer F&F Co. made a foray into the entertainment sector to create a synergy of K-content and fashion, competing with the country’s powerhouses such as HYBE Co., SM Entertainment Co., and JYP Entertainment Inc.

F&F said on Tuesday it established a subsidiary F&F Entertainment and appointed Choi Jae-woo, a songwriter who produced original soundtracks of mega-hit South Korean dramas such as My Love from the Star and Secret Garden, as its CEO. Choi invested in various music content when he worked for Kakao Entertainment Corp., a unit of the country’s mobile platform giant Kakao Corp. for 12 years.

F&F Entertainment is set to launch a global audition project in the second half to foster a girl group by selecting members who dream of K-pop stars from around the world. The show is set to be aired through the country’s major broadcasting stations. The apparel retailer’s entertainment unit aims to nurture artists not only for music but also for other genres.

FASHION AND ENTERTAINMENT

The company plans to apply its expertise in building fashion brands across the world to foster idols. F&F developed the global intellectual property of US Major League Baseball (MLB) into a fashion brand, which generated overseas sales of more than 1 trillion won ($802 million) last year.

“We will actively utilize our know-how that created fandom with MLB fashion brand (for the entertainment business),” said an F&F official.

F&F acquired domestic entertainment companies and content producers last year. In March 2022, it took over Bound Entertainment, which produced Dr. Brain, Appl TV+’s first original series in Korean, and Victory Contents, which made a TV series Empress Ki.

F&F Chairman Kim Chang-soo reportedly expected the entertainment business to create synergy with its fashion brands as he saw K-fashion and K-pop have a lot in common as they are well-recognized for their potential in the global market.

Write to Jeong-Cheol Bae at bjc@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.