LF to open Korea’s 1st standalone fashion outlet in India

LF Corp., a leading South Korean clothing company, will foray into India with its flagship brand Hazzys to build its presence in the rapidly growing premium fashion market.

It will open its first standalone store for Hazzys in India in the second half of this year and open nine additional outlets across the country over the next three years, LF said on Thursday.

This will mark the first store dedicated to a Korean fashion label in the South Asian country.

To facilitate its entry into India, it has signed an export agreement with Asia Brands Cooperation. Based in Bengaluru, the brand management company has experience operating global sports and fashion brands such as Nike and Lacoste in India.

“With an estimated 400 million middle-class consumers, the key demographic for the premium casual fashion market, it’s a must-win market,” said an LF official.

The growth of the Indian fashion market is expected to sharply outpace that of Europe, China and the US.

Its luxury fashion segment is projected to grow 15-20% this year compared with the year prior, with the non-luxury apparel market seen to expand 12-17% over the same period, according to consultancy McKinsey.

OVERSEAS SALES

Hazzys has already advanced into China and Taiwan. It has operated around 530 outlets in China since entering the market in 2007. In 2013, it became the first Korean fashion label to open a standalone outlet in Taiwan, followed by the launch of a store in Vietnam in 2017.

In 2024, overseas sales of the Hazzys label increased 15% from the year before.

Particularly, exports of its ICONIC collection, a Hazzys line, skyrocketed 478% on-year in 2023 and surged 106% in 2024.

“We’ll aggressively expand our presence on the global stage. In the medium to long term, we’ll catch up to global brands such as Polo and Ralph Lauren,” the LF official added.

Write to Sun A Lee at suna@hankyung.com
 
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.