Musinsa posted its highest-ever first-quarter results. The expansion of offline stores and growth in its global business worked in tandem, driving both top-line expansion and improved profitability.
Musinsa said on the 27th that first-quarter sales rose 24.1% from a year earlier to 363.6 billion won. Operating profit for the same period increased 8.2% to 19 billion won. On a separate basis, sales rose 25% to 335 billion won, and operating profit climbed 45.5% to 27.5 billion won.
However, there was a net loss of about 8 billion won on a separate basis. The company said this was due to accounting policy that recognizes redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS) as a liability, which reflected related interest costs on the books, and did not involve actual cash outflow.
Profitability appears to have improved as transaction volume on online platforms, including Musinsa Store, 29CM and Musinsa Empty, increased, and offline stores were expanded in key commercial districts such as Myeong-dong and Seongsu.
From January to March this year, Musinsa opened new Musinsa Standard stores at four locations: One Grove, Starfield Village Unjeong, Hyundai Department Store Mok-dong and Shinsegae Premium Outlet Paju. During the period, Musinsa Standard's offline sales rose about 86% from a year earlier.
During the same period, the number of customers who visited stores nationwide was about 9.23 million, up roughly 98% from a year earlier. In March, it also unveiled the "Musinsa Standard Shanghai Shinsegae Xinhaunzhongxin store" in Shanghai, China, broadening its global customer touchpoints.
The global business also maintained its growth. Musinsa Global Store's first-quarter transaction amount increased by more than 48% from a year earlier. The influx of foreign tourists visiting Korea also had a big effect. In the first quarter, foreign customers accounted for about 44% of sales at five Musinsa Standard road-shop stores in Myeong-dong, Seomyeon, Seongsu, Hannam and Hongdae.
Musinsa's exports in the first quarter were about 15.3 billion won, up about 11.9 times from a year earlier. The share of exports in total quarterly sales also rose from 0.44% in the first quarter of last year to 4.2% in the first quarter of this year.
A Musinsa official said, "The newly introduced offline spaces have taken root with strong customer response, and the various marketing strategies leveraging them have led to tangible growth in results," adding, "We will continue to support the global growth of our partner brands and provide a fashion shopping experience that spans online and offline."