People might recognize the Tommy Hilfinger brand in one sight. It’s signature black, white and red logo has been around for decades. But the brand was not doing as good as the other apparel the last few years. Yet Handsome, a retail company in South Korea, succeeded in reviving the brand sales in Asia.
The subsidiary of Hyundai Department Store acquired SK Networks fashion division along with the American brand in 2017. At the first year, it exceed $180 million of annual sales. By 2018, it increased up to $198 million.
Handsome brand rebuilding strategy
Handsome did not just reselling the American products, though. It made some changes for the brand, using a brand rebuilding strategy. Brand rebuilding is not a new thing for the Korean retail. Previously, it has succeeded in raising many brands.
After taking over Tommy Hilfiger, the company introduced an entire new line of clothing. It also expanded the product range. Previously, it was limited only to men’s and women’s clothes. Handsome expanded it to footwear, casual clothing and miscellaneous goods.
Last year, it launched the first Tommy Hilfiger footwear in Asia. Then it opened the first store for the footwear series. This February, it opened an exclusive Tommy Jeans store in Seoul. Finally, it introduced the Tommy Hilfinger Socks a little while ago.
Handsome also made some changes on the brand’s design. It tried the design differentiation method. The method aims for the milennium generation, alluring them with the big big logo of the brand on the products. Collaboration with Coca Cola and Mercedes Benz also attracted many new customers.
The company reported a 43% year on year growth from January to May this year. About half of the purchaser are people in the 20s and 30s.
Answering the good response, Handsome shared its plans on collaborating with the apparel’s headquarter. It will launch jacket, coat and other products by the second half of this year. It also increased the year’s target sale from $207 million to $225 million.
