Musinsa, credited with turning Seongsu-dong in Seoul into the center of Korea's offline fashion, has picked the Seoul Forest area as its next destination. The aim is to support tenant brands' offline expansion through real estate investments worth about 10 billion won in the Seoul Forest area.
According to industry sources on the 21st, Musinsa has recently been purchasing and signing long-term leases on vacant retail spaces around Seoul Forest. The plan is to rent these spaces to brands on its online platform at low prices to help them enter the offline market.
A Musinsa official said, "As small and midsize fashion brands on the platform grow, demand for offline expansion is increasing," and added, "While larger brands can enter offline on their own, relatively smaller brands face difficulties on the expense side, so we are pursuing this initiative."
Musinsa chose Seoul Forest as the new destination for its accessibility and rents. Seoul Forest is close to Yeonmujang-gil in Seongsu-dong, making it easy for tourists visiting Seongsu-dong to access. Also, as several fashion and beauty companies have moved into Seongsu-dong in addition to Musinsa, rents there have surged.
A Musinsa official said, "With more foreign tourists visiting Seongsu-dong, we discussed with tenant brands how to showcase Korean fashion brands in offline spaces and decided on Seoul Forest as the next destination."