Korea's National Geographic Apparel steps up push into China

South Korean fashion company The Nature Holdings Co. is set to expand the presence of its outdoor clothing brand National Geographic Apparel in China with seven stores to open within this year.  

The Nature Holdings bought a license from the US TV channel National Geographic and launched the brand in Korea in 2016. It has gained huge popularity among young consumers in Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong and is stepping up its marketing strategy in China as a premium outdoor fashion brand.

National Geographic Apparel will open a store in Nanjing, its first official store in China, on Sept. 9. Its Beijing-based pop-up store will finish a pre-opening business in October and begin official operations in October.

The brand will open three additional stores in Beijing and two in Shanghai by the end of this year, The Nature Holdings said.

The company and Danish fashion firm Bestseller established a joint venture in May for Chinese business. Through the JV, The Nature Holdings aims to open 600 stores across China in the long term.

PREMIUM BRAND STRATEGY

MLB, an apparel brand that Korea’s F&F Co. has launched via brand licensing with the US’ Major League Baseball, entered China in 2019. MLB has employed a premium brand strategy, with higher prices in China than in Korea. The branding was successful, and MLB achieved 1 trillion won ($750.2 million) in revenue in China last year.

National Geographic Apparel eyes a similar path. The first store in Nanjing will be located in Deji Plaza, an upscale shopping mall. The Nature Holdings said it strives to create spaces that fully embrace the brand's story to establish it as a premium fashion brand.

The outdoor fashion brand will attract a great number of Chinese consumers as the country in August lifted its ban on group tours to Korea after a six-year hiatus, an official of the brand said. With the increased brand awareness in China, more Chinese visitors in Korea will buy its fashion products, the official added.

The brand is expanding its presence across Asia. It opened the first store in Taiwan in April, launched the second in July and the third in August. The second, a flagship store, posted 120 million won in revenue within 10 days of its opening. Backed by huge success in Hong Kong, it will launch its ninth store in the city this month.

The Nature Holdings will focus on operations in China and Taiwan this year. It will accelerate its business in Singapore and Japan and expand in North America and Europe in the long term. 

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

Jihyun Kim edited this article.