Musinsa Kicks, a specialty offline sneaker store [Provided by Musinsa]
Musinsa Kicks, a specialty offline sneaker store [Provided by Musinsa]

Musinsa Kicks, a specialty sneaker store launched by Musinsa in January, has drawn 1 million visitors over eight months.

Musinsa Kicks is an offline sneaker-focused concept store that reflects the roots of Musinsa, which started in 2001 as an online sneaker community called "Mujinjang Sinbal Sajin-i Manheun Gos" — roughly, "a place with an endless number of sneaker photos."

Monthly visitors to the flagship Hongdae store have more than tripled, rising from about 65,000 in its opening month to 200,000 in July. Monthly transaction volume over the same period grew more than 2.6 times.

Foreign tourists have been driving the growth. The share of foreign customers in total transactions at Musinsa Kicks climbed from the high 40 percent range in January to 70 percent last month. On a cumulative basis, foreign customers accounted for 61 percent of transactions at the Hongdae store and 69 percent at the Seongsu store.

Musinsa is expanding Musinsa Kicks' reach and customer base. The company opened its third store, at Starfield Goyang, on Aug. 7. It plans to open a new store on Jeju Island in the fourth quarter.

Musinsa Kicks at Starfield Goyang [Provided by Musinsa]
Musinsa Kicks at Starfield Goyang [Provided by Musinsa]

siuu@heraldcorp.com