Consolidated operating profit falls 11.2% on higher costs

Musinsa Standard heads to Vietnam as the fashion platform also brings a local distributor on board. [Musinsa]
Musinsa Standard heads to Vietnam as the fashion platform also brings a local distributor on board. [Musinsa]

Musinsa posted record first-half sales of 821.7 billion won ($597 million), the company's best-ever result for the January-June period.

The fashion platform disclosed Monday that consolidated revenue for the first half of 2026 reached 821.7 billion won, up 22.5 percent from 670.5 billion won in the same period a year earlier.

On a standalone basis, first-half sales came to 784.7 billion won, a 30.0 percent increase year on year. Second-quarter consolidated revenue rose 21.3 percent to 458.1 billion won, while the standalone figure climbed 34 percent to 449.7 billion won.

Standalone operating profit for the first half grew 13.1 percent year on year to 65.7 billion won. On a consolidated basis, however, operating profit fell 11.2 percent to 52.3 billion won over the same period.

Musinsa attributed the decline to higher raw-material and labor costs as well as increased selling and administrative expenses — including shipping and commission fees — tied to the expansion in transaction volume. The company expects profitability to improve from next year as current investments in AI talent recruitment, large-scale logistics efficiency and overseas marketing expansion begin to pay off.

The net loss for the first half stood at about 15.6 billion won, a figure the company said reflects interest expenses recorded on paper under an accounting policy that classifies redeemable convertible preferred shares as debt.

The results were driven by domestic offline expansion and strengthened global operations. In the second quarter, Musinsa opened 12 new offline stores — 10 in South Korea and two abroad. Domestically, the flagship Musinsa Mega Store Seongsu was a standout. Overseas, two new outlets opened in China in April: Musinsa Standard Shanghai Xinliubai YOUNG and Musinsa Standard Hangzhou Hang Lung Plaza.

Sales at Musinsa's 41 domestic Musinsa Standard stores jumped 64 percent year on year in the second quarter, while foot traffic at offline stores rose more than 66 percent. For the first time on a quarterly basis, visitor numbers exceeded 10 million.

Musinsa's overseas export sales for the first half surged more than ninefold year on year to about 37.2 billion won. Second-quarter transaction volume at Musinsa Global Store, which operates across 13 markets including Japan, the United States and Thailand, grew more than 143 percent year on year. Markets including Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia each more than doubled.

Musinsa plans to accelerate its expansion in the second half. In September and November, it will open large standalone Musinsa Beauty stores — each spanning 1,320 square meters — in Seoul's Hongdae and Seongsu neighborhoods, respectively. A Musinsa Standard and a Musinsa Beauty store in Jeju, the first of each brand on the island, are also set to open in the fourth quarter.

Overseas, a large pop-up store is planned in Osaka, Japan, in October, which Musinsa said will serve as a springboard for a permanent offline store it intends to open there in 2027. In China, the company will launch a Musinsa store and a Musinsa Standard outlet together in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, also in October.

"In the first half of this year, our new offline spaces took root and growing demand in global markets translated directly into stronger earnings," a Musinsa official said. "In the second half, we will continue to support the global growth of brands on our platform and deliver fashion experiences that break down the boundaries between online and offline."


soho0902@heraldcorp.com