On the 23rd at the Musinsa Standard season preview in Seongdong District, Seoul. The fabric labels on the sweaters on the rack read suri alpaca and cashmere from Inner Mongolia. This is the premium collection Musinsa Standard Plus, unveiled for the first time that day by the brand known for its basic T-shirts priced in the 30,000–50,000 won range.
Musinsa's private brand (PB) Musinsa Standard is expanding its product lineup and distribution network at the same time, accelerating its shift into a large-scale specialty retailer of private-label apparel (SPA). The company aims to raise its annual sales from 470 billion won last year to 1 trillion won this year and to expand its stores to 60 locations in Korea and overseas. Industry watchers say the path of securing mass appeal with basic apparel before moving up to functional and premium lines resembles Uniqlo's growth formula.
Musinsa held Musinsa Standard's 2026 fall-winter (FW) season preview in Seongdong District, Seoul, that day and unveiled the new collection Musinsa Standard Plus for the first time. It is the first time Musinsa Standard has held a consumer-participation season preview.
Design head Kim Ji-hoon said, "Until last year, new product reveals were conducted only internally, but starting this year we plan to increase public touchpoints," adding, "Starting with this preview, our goal is to more proactively inform customers about the new products and messages the brand pursues."
Musinsa Standard Plus maintains the practicality of existing basic wear while enhancing materials and production finish. It applies suri alpaca and cashmere from Inner Mongolia, and silk-cashmere blended yarns to sweaters, and uses Egyptian Giza cotton and high-density twill fabric from Japan's Cosmo for shirts and pants. It is seen as an attempt to expand from a price-focused basic apparel brand into a comprehensive fashion brand that combines design and quality.
It also strengthened functional product lines. The urban outdoor collection City Leisure, introduced by the brand in 2023, sold 370,000 units in the first half of this year. The number of products has increased more than tenfold since launch, expanding from jackets to pants, shirts, vests, down and kids' products. This season, down products were segmented into light, midweight and heavy, and the fleece and trail lines were reinforced.
It infused collaborations with external brands with a Seoul identity. Musinsa Standard unveiled collaborative collections with HELINOX, an outdoor brand that started in Seoul, and OHESHIO, a women's fashion brand. With HELINOX, it presented everyday bags made with high-strength fabric used in camping chairs, and with OHESHIO, it introduced women's apparel reflecting check, dot and flower patterns and a vintage sensibility.
The goal is to emphasize the color of a "global SPA born in Seoul" by combining the technological prowess and design sensitivity of brands that grew in Seoul. Musinsa Standard also set this season's campaign message as Seoul Standard, meaning it will extend product strength and brand experience proven in Seoul to the global market.
Musinsa Standard is also accelerating the expansion of its offline stores in Korea and overseas. It plans to add more than 20 stores this year in key regions in Korea and prime commercial districts in China, reaching 60 stores at home and abroad. After opening its first overseas store in Shanghai in Dec. last year, it expanded its network to Hangzhou this year and set a goal of increasing its stores in China to 100 by 2030. Musinsa aims to raise Musinsa Standard's annual sales from about 470 billion won last year to 1 trillion won this year.
Some in the industry worry that the faster Musinsa, as a platform operator, grows its private brand, the more competition with partner brands may intensify. In response, Musinsa says Musinsa Standard forms a virtuous cycle that encourages purchases from other brands rather than replacing partner brands.
According to a consumer behavior-based study titled "A study on the growth of platforms and partner brands following PB operations," conducted by Associate Professor Lee Yu-seok of Dongguk University's business administration department and Assistant Professor Kim Jong-dae of Chonnam National University's business school, consumers with more experience purchasing Musinsa Standard products showed a tendency to have both a higher likelihood of purchasing partner brand products and a higher share of purchase amounts in subsequent transactions. More than 95% of the apparel brands purchased together were also in overlapping categories such as basic and SPA lines.
A Musinsa official said, "Musinsa Standard is expanding its reach from a focus on fundamentals to functional, premium and collaborative collections based on product competitiveness," adding, "We will continue to expand customer touchpoints in Korea and overseas to grow into a brand that represents Korea."