S.Korea’s fashion brand Handsome expands overseas portfolio

South Korean fashion company Handsome Corp. is accelerating expansion of its portfolio for licensing foreign brands.

The company on Monday said it concluded an exclusive distribution deal with Kith, a US luxury lifestyle select shop and street fashion brand, to open Kith’s first domestic branch.

Slated for launch in Seoul’s Seongsu-dong neighborhood in the first half of next year, the forthcoming store will be Kith's fourth outside the US after those in London, Paris and Tokyo and second in Asia.

Founded in 2011 as a small select shop in the New York borough of Brooklyn, Kith has collaborated with over 100 global brands and famous designers over the past 12 years. As a leader of global street fashion culture, the company is the so-called collaboration king.

Kith is also famous for limited edition marketing. From 2018, the Kith Monday Program is held weekly at 11 a.m. to introduce new collaborative products in limited quantities. This event attracts shoppers from the world over, many of whom wait in line in front of the store.

In addition, Handsome also signed exclusive distribution contracts with Canadian luxury outerwear brand Moose Knuckle and Italian luxury fashion label Aspesi.

Starting with The Hyundai mall in Daegu next month, Moose Knuckles this year will open five regular and 20 pop-up sales corners at department stores and outlets. Aspesi will also launch by next year about 10 stores in the country, beginning next month with the Pangyo branch of Hyundai Department Store in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

Under its strategy for expanding its portfolio of labels from abroad announced last year, Handsome is steadily importing foreign brands.  Within five years, it plans to more than double sales of its overseas fashion division to 1 trillion won ($780 million) and this year, it will raise its number of foreign brands to 20 and expand its product scope to accessories.

Write to Kyeong-je Han at hankyung@hankyung.com