LF

A partnership agreement with “Happiness & D,” the largest exclusive accessory shop in Japan, was recently signed.

Signing of the export agreement with HAZZYS accessories and golf accessories

Sets foot to Japan after gaining a foothold in China, Thailand, and Taiwan—aims to achieve KRW 1 trillion sales in five years

HAZZYS, which is LF’s (Representative Koo Bon Keul of www.lfcorp.com) leading casual brand, is the first brand of its type to enter the Japanese market.

On the afternoon of September 30, LF signed an export agreement with Happiness & D, which runs the largest select accessory shop in Japan, at the LF head office in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul. As part of the agreement, LF will export HAZZYS accessories and golf accessories.

“Happiness & D” is Japan’s major fashion retailer that runs exclusive shops that feature various global luxury brands. It owns around 60 big retail networks in key commercial zones, including Ginza in Tokyo.

HAZZYS has settled down in China with a solid market presence. Now, the brand is pushing further into the Southeast Asian market and has become the first domestic fashion company to enter the Taiwanese and Thai markets. Its decision to jump into Japan, which has an advanced fashion industry, is part of its full-fledged global business expansion strategy.

Since the 1990s Japanese fashion stores have transformed from brand-centered stores to those centered on categories and items, which is similar to European and North American stores. In the course of such transformation, the exclusive shop business made an explosive growth to the extent that it is now one of the key retail formats in the Japanese fashion industry.

HAZZYS plans to start off in Japan with accessories and golf lines, which will later extend to apparel. It aims to enter more than 50 stores and achieve over KRW 20 billion in sales by 2016.

“HAZZYS’ entry to Japan is significant because it is the first casual brand in Korea that has made a foray into the Japanese market. Its competitiveness has earned recognition in Japan’s advanced fashion market, where most of the consumption is centered on the products and items. The brand’s entry to Japan will be the cornerstone in further expanding to other fashion-forward countries, such as the Europe and the US. We will nurture HAZZYS to become a huge brand, whose annual sales will increase from KRW 500 billion to KRW 1 trillion in the global market within the next five years,” said Vice President Inkwon Kim.

HAZZYS suddenly appeared in the local casual fashion market in 2000. Previously, the market was evenly split between POLO and Bean Pole for almost a decade. Since then, the brand has catapulted and began to dominate the market alongside the other two brands.

In late 2007, HAZZYS entered the Chinese market, wherein it enjoyed a steady double-digit sales growth. Within seven years, it opened 175 stores across China―a notable sign of its success as a casual clothing brand.