Despite concerns about an economic downturn and slowing consumption last year, Andar and Xexymix, seen as Korea's two leading athleisure brands, both continued to grow sales. Centered on signature categories such as leggings and bra tops, both companies broadened their reach into running, golf, innerwear, and menswear, and are viewed as having secured new growth engines.
Athleisure combines athletic and leisure, referring to functional apparel that can be worn not only when exercising but also in daily life. As the market has grown recently, overseas expansion by Korean corporations and the entry of foreign corporations into the Korean market have both accelerated.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART) on the 11th, Andar posted sales of 298.7 billion won and an operating profit of 28.5 billion won last year. Operating profit fell 13% from a year earlier, but sales rose 26.1%. During the same period, Xexymix reported sales of 274.1 billion won and operating profit of 17.3 billion won. Operating profit fell 30.3%, while sales increased 0.9%.
Both companies saw profitability soften as marketing expenses, offline store operating costs, and overseas expansion expense increased with the addition of new product lines last year. Still, they maintained operating profit in the black and secured new demand through brand expansion, sustaining top-line growth.
Andar and Xexymix are Korean athleisure brands that have grown mainly around women's leggings and yoga and Pilates wear. Andar's largest shareholder is KOSDAQ-listed ECHOMARKETING, which held 55.9% equity as of the end of last year. In 2021, it acquired management control from founder and CEO Shin Ae-ryeon through a third-party paid-in capital increase. ECHOMARKETING has been acquired by global private equity firm Bain Capital. Bain Capital is proceeding with delisting ECHOMARKETING through a tender offer and a comprehensive share swap.
Andar has recently expanded beyond a simple sportswear brand into a comprehensive athleisure brand that spans everyday wear and professional sportswear. In particular, it is focusing on broadening wearing contexts and customer bases by expanding product lines into running, golf, mens, innerwear, and business athleisure.
The largest shareholder of Xexymix is adviser Kang Min-jun, who held 29.4% equity as of the end of last year. Kang is one of the founders of BrandX Corporation, the predecessor of Xexymix.
Xexymix is also moving beyond a women's-centric structure, fostering golf, running, innerwear, and menswear as new growth pillars. According to the Korea IR Association's Corporate Research Center, Xexymix's standalone sales mix last year was women's 67.3%, men's 15.6%, golf 9.3%, and other 7.8%. The view is that the new product lines are establishing themselves as meaningful sales pillars.
Andar and Xexymix are also accelerating their push into overseas markets. Andar is using Japan, Singapore, and Australia as bases while expanding both online and offline. As of July last year, monthly sales in the three countries—Japan, Singapore, and Australia—surpassed 3.5 billion won.
Buoyed by growth in its overseas business, Andar opened a standalone store in Westfield Sydney in Sydney, Australia, in May last year and launched its third store in Singapore in October. It has also recently rolled out the premium brand "STRETCH YOUR STORY" in the United States, which integrates its proprietary technology, as it targets the local market.
Xexymix is placing emphasis on overseas expansion centered on local subsidiaries. It currently has subsidiaries in Japan, Taiwan, and China, and last year's sales came to 18.2 billion won in Japan, 9.2 billion won in Taiwan, and 4.7 billion won in China. Among them, sales at the Japan subsidiary rose 58.4% year over year, marking the steepest growth. The share of overseas subsidiaries in Xexymix's total sales also nearly tripled, from 4% in 2023 to 11.7% in 2025.
The market's growth trend is also clear. According to research firm IMARC, the size of Korea's athleisure market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of about 6%, expanding from $7.671 billion (about 11 trillion won) in 2024 to $12.9705 billion (about 19 trillion won) in 2033.
Aiming at the growing Korean market, global brands are also ramping up their push. U.S. brand Alo Yoga opened its first Asian flagship store near Dosan Park in Seoul in Jul. 2025, and Canadian brand Lululemon unveiled its first Asian flagship store in Gangnam, Seoul, in Nov. of the same year.
Chae Yoon-seok, a researcher at the Korea IR Association's Corporate Research Center, said, "The domestic athleisure market is maintaining a medium- to long-term growth phase as factors such as increased health and wellness spending, the spread of styles driven by celebrities and K-content, greater acceptance of casual dress codes in workplaces, and advances in materials and manufacturing technologies work in combination," adding, "Recently, as the category has expanded from a focus on leggings to running, golf, and tennis, the wearing context has broadened, and competition between global brands and homegrown athleisure brands has become even fiercer."