While domestic homegrown outdoor brands face stalled growth, global brands are accelerating their push into the Korean market. In particular, Arc'teryx and Salomon, owned by China's Anta Group, are making aggressive investments, and The North Face, operated by Youngone Outdoor, is also maintaining solid growth.
According to the industry on the 31st, Arc'teryx Korea is working to open a large flagship store near Dosan Park in Apgujeong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. It recently secured the site and is preparing to open in the second half of next year. The store is expected to be 300 to 500 pyeong.
Earlier, Arc'teryx established a Korean subsidiary in Sep. last year and entered the market directly. Nelson Sports had handled the domestic business for about 25 years, but as the size of Korea's outdoor market grew and brand awareness increased, headquarters decided to run the business directly. Arc'teryx recorded about 145 billion won in sales in Korea last year, and there is an outlook that it will reach 200 billion won this year.
China's Anta Group has been nurturing Arc'teryx as a core brand after acquiring Amer Sports, which owns Arc'teryx and Salomon, in 2018. In Korea, Arc'teryx has led the gorpcore trend—using outdoor apparel as everyday wear—among people in their 20s and 30s, establishing itself as a premium lifestyle brand beyond a simple outdoor label, and investment in Korea is increasing accordingly.
Salomon, another brand under Amer Sports, is also steadily increasing investment in Korea. It is expanding offline touchpoints around key commercial districts such as Seongsu and Hannam-dong and is focusing on targeting consumers in their 20s and 30s with trail running and lifestyle product lines. In Seochon, it opened the world's first trail running specialty store and is operating experiential programs such as group runs, membership sessions, and a trail running academy.
By contrast, homegrown outdoor brands are losing momentum. Discovery, operated by F&F(383220), is estimated to have posted around 365 billion won in domestic sales last year, down about 16% from the previous year. Although it had grown by leading the lifestyle outdoor market, analysts say it is going through a correction phase amid the maturation of Korea's outdoor market and intensifying competition.
Nepa also remained sluggish. Nepa, owned by MBK Partners, saw last year's sales fall 2.9% year over year to 288.8 billion won, marking four consecutive years of negative growth. Its operating loss widened 174% to 2.1 billion won from 760 million won a year earlier. BYN Black Yak's sales fell 2% year over year to 291.7 billion won, and its operating loss grew about 57.1% to 6.4 billion won from the previous year.
Global outdoor brand The North Face showed a contrasting trend. The North Face achieved 1 trillion won in sales for the second consecutive year last year. Along with strong sales of performance products, key distribution channels—including company-owned stores, department stores, and outlets—grew evenly, and demand from foreign tourists also supported results. About 70% of The North Face sales at the Myeong-dong Shinsegae(004170) department store main branch were from foreigners.
As overseas premium outdoor brands continue to enter the country, competition in Korea's outdoor market is expected to become even fiercer. Besides Arc'teryx, Goldwin and Montura have entered directly or changed their business approach, and Montbell has shifted to a direct import system. Brands such as Salewa and Haglöfs, which once withdrew from the domestic market, have reentered.
Fashion platforms and select shops are also moving to secure rare overseas outdoor brands. Kasina has introduced new brands such as Teton Bros. and Hiking Patrol, while EQL is expanding premium brands such as Goldwin and District Vision. Musinsa is also strengthening its outdoor lineup around overseas performance brands such as Peak Performance, Black Diamond, and Scarpa.