South Korean fashion platform Musinsa deepens ties with Japan’s Zozo ahead of IPO

South Korean style shopping platform Musinsa is increase its cooperation with Japanese peer Zozo to develop a worldwide existence ahead of an IPO.

“Through our cooperation with Zozo, we’ll have the ability to reach a vast array of clients in Japan, a significant market,” stated Park Jun-young, Musinsa’s primary worldwide officer.

Through this partnership, Musinsa intends to change itself from simply an exporter of South Korean style and into a worldwide circulation center for brand names from both Japan and South Korea.

Zozo opened its very first South Korean pop-up store at a Musinsa physical shop in Seoul on Oct. 16. The pop-up is offering items from 15 popular Japanese brand names up until completion of the month. Musinsa is likewise offering popular Zozo items online through mid-November.

Musinsa and Zozo concurred in December 2024 to develop a tactical collaboration. In November 2025, a Musinsa store opened inside Zozo’s Japanese e-commerce platform, Zozotown.

Musinsa started in 2001 as an online neighborhood for tennis shoe lovers. The website got in the e-commerce company in 2009 and integrated in 2012.

The business broadened its consumer base by finding up-and-coming K-brands. Since 2025, Musinsa had actually partnered with over 20,000 brand names and had more than 10 million month-to-month active users.

Now, the business’s profits comes from 2 primary streams: sales of its own label, Musinsa Standard, and commissions from finding and offering other brand names.

Musinsa used in September for an initial evaluation to list on the Korea Exchange. The foundation is being laid for a listing in the very first half of 2027. The business worth would be around KRW 8– 10 trillion (USD 6.0– 7.5 billion ), according to South Korean news outlets.

In an October report, South Korea’s IBK Securities stated the predicted worth will depend upon future development capacity beyond existing revenue levels. What will support Musinsa’s business worth is whether the business can accomplish development worldwide, and not simply in South Korea’s retail sector, according to the report.

Park informed Nikkei that Musinsa can show the toughness of its development by using its cultivated knowledge to abroad markets, in combination with broadening organization back home.

“The most crucial thing is the business’s worth and sustainability,” Park stated.

Japan is an essential piece of Musinsa’s abroad method. The business developed a Japanese subsidiary in 2021 and started online sales there in 2022. Sales because market more than quintupled in the 3 years approximately 2025. The business prepares to open its very first irreversible shop in Japan in 2027.

Numerous South Korean brand names “are little brand names with just a couple of workers, and they fast to react to patterns,” Park stated.

Musinsa developed a Taiwan subsidiary in July, intending to open 15 shops over the next 5 years. In China, the business will open 2 shops at the same time in Shenzhen on October 31. Musinsa will likewise include more places in Southeast Asia.

Musinsa’s earnings grew in 2025, net revenue fell 41% to KRW 7.7 billion (USD 5.7 million). The business logged a KRW 15.6 billion (USD 11.6 million) bottom line for the very first half of 2026. Weighing down on profits are increasing procurement expenses, financial investments in expert system skill and logistics effectiveness, and marketing costs in Japan and China.

This post initially appeared on Nikkei AsiaIt has actually been republished here as part of 36Kr’s continuous collaboration with Nikkei

Keep in mind: KRW figures are transformed to USD at rates of KRW 1340.33=USD 1 based upon price quotes since October 29, 2026, unless otherwise specified. USD conversions exist for ease of recommendation and might not totally match dominating currency exchange rate.