Korean lifestyle brand Andar takes on Xexymix in athleisure market

South Korea's activewear maker Andar posted record quarterly sales of 61.6 billion won ($47 million), moving one step closer to retaking the market leadership from Brand X Co., which operates the Xexymix brand.

Andar, an affiliate of Echo Marketing Co., said on Tuesday its second-quarter sales revenue is up 13.8% from a year earlier. Its operating profit in the April-June period rose 22.8% to 7 billion won.

Andar is the Korean athleisure industry’s first company to break above 60 billion won in quarterly sales.

With the strong results, fashion industry analysts are wondering if Andar, which lost the top spot to Xexymix in 2020, could regain its market leadership this year.

Established in 2017, Andar is fiercely competing with Xexymix, which is well known in Korea for its utilitarian tops and leggings that customers wear in daily life. 

In the second quarter, Xexymix posted 56.1 billion won in sales, up 8% from the year-earlier period. Its operating profit gained 17.1% to 5.3 billion won.

MEN’S LINE BOOSTS Q2 PERFORMANCE

Andar said its decent second-quarter performance was led by its men’s line, which began a full-scale expansion last year. Second-quarter sales from its men’s clothing business doubled to 18.4 billion won from a year ago.

The early days of the domestic athleisure market, which features sportswear worn as everyday clothing, belonged to Andar, which used "leggings made by yoga instructors" as a marketing strategy.

In 2019, the brand was hit by a boycott of women in their 20s and 30s, its main consumer target, after allegations arose of sexual harassment in the company. As a result, Xexymix took over as the market leader in 2020.

In 2021, ownership of Andar changed hands when management, including Chief Executive and founder Shin Ae-ryun, sold their stakes to advertising company Echo Marketing.

Xexymix is diversifying its business scope to clothing for golf, swimming and children to maintain its lead. It is also aggressively pursuing overseas expansion, opening in April its first store in Shanghai.

Last month, Brand X said it has established a corporation in Taiwan to enhance its presence there.

In Taiwan there is a strong preference for K-culture and K-fashion, and the interest in and demand for athleisure sportswear there is growing.

Since its inception in 2017, the company's athleisure brand, Xexymix, has made remarkable strides, spanning 55 countries.

Write to Jiyoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.