Korean swimwear Barrel posts profit in post-pandemic surfing boom

South Korea’s leading swimwear maker Barrel is stepping up its profitability after losses during COVID-19 as its new owner has saved costs through restructuring and surf culture has come back in the post-pandemic era.

The company said on Monday it posted 2.5 billion won ($1.9 million) in operating profit in the April-June period, achieving profits for two straight quarters after seeing losses for three years. Its second-quarter revenue reached 15.8 billion won, up 46.2% on-year.  

Barrel is well known for its rash guard, a fitted long-sleeve top for swimmers or surfers. The company posted a record-high yearly revenue of 59.9 billion won in 2019 and was slammed by the pandemic between 2020 and 2022.

The swimwear maker was acquired by The Nature Holdings Co. in July 2022, a local fashion firm that buys licenses from global brands like National Geographic, NFL, Mark Gonzales and Vera Wang. The Nature Holdings is famous for camping products and outdoor clothing branded by National Geographic, a US TV channel about nature and science – the apparel has gained popularity among Korean young consumers and entered China in April of this year.

The Nature Holdings is seeking a stable revenue stream as National Geographic’s peak season is winter, while Barrel’s is summer.

The new owner has restructured Barrel for business efficiency. The parent firm has integrated Barrel’s athleisure division, which was responsible for yoga wear and everyday wear, into the watersport division and the total number of employees from around 100 to 70.

The Nature Holdings has also closed Barrel’s offline stores in China and only maintains  online channels in the country like Tmall.

Barrel will launch new products of the athleisure line and is considering operating physical stores in China again, as its sister brand National Geographic is gaining popularity with the Beijing-based store, market watchers say.

Barrel expects to see growing demand for its swimwear as the number of Korean surfers increased from around 400,000 in 2019 to 1 million last year.

Write to Ji-Yoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com


Jihyun Kim edited this article.