Article at a Glance

Founded in 2001 as an online community, "MUSINSA" has grown over two decades into South Korea’s 10th unicorn company, recording an annual transaction volume of 1.2 trillion KRW, revenue of 331.9 billion KRW, operating profit of 45.5 billion KRW, and over 6,200 partner brands. MUSINSA initially began as a content media company that produced fashion-related content within its community, then evolved into a fashion platform with added commerce functions. It is widely recognized that the fandom built through its community played a major role in that process. In its early days, MUSINSA attracted fashion enthusiasts by posting rare images of limited-edition sneakers and street fashion materials that were hard to find in Korea. The company also hosted regular events targeting these users, transforming MUSINSA into a playground for fashion-savvy teens and those in their twenties. MUSINSA also supported talented but struggling domestic brands that lacked marketing and sales channels by handling their marketing and distribution, helping to nurture many local street fashion labels.

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“Everyone’s Doing It with MUSINSA”

In October 2020, 수많은 스포츠토토 사이트 released a TV commercial that reflected the confidence of a newly minted unicorn company1 1A startup company valued at over $1 billion and founded less than 10 years ago. The term “unicorn” originated from the idea that achieving a corporate valuation of over 1 trillion KRW before going public was as rare and mythical as the unicorn itself. 닫기 . It wasn't just because the ad featured Yoo Ah-in, a high-profile and costly actor. More importantly, the commercial effectively conveyed MUSINSA’s concept and direction in a single message. Through this ad, MUSINSA introduced its brand to consumers who had not yet encountered it, while also delivering a pointed message: "Don't you know MUSINSA yet, the platform everyone else is already using?" It was also evaluated as successfully delivering a warning to fashion brands not yet on MUSINSA that 'you should be nervous since you haven't joined a platform where everyone else has already come in'.2 2The slogan also employed a wordplay strategy, as it could be read as “I love MUSINSA” when spacing is adjusted in Korean. 닫기

Like the slogan from its ad campaign, MUSINSA had, by 2021, expanded into nearly every area related to fashion. Starting from street fashion for Millennials and Generation Z, MUSINSA has extended its reach into luxury goods, golf wear, and limited-edition sneakers, and it has also announced its entry into the cosmetics business. Its transaction volume and operating performance are growing rapidly as well. MUSINSA’s transaction volume reached 450 billion KRW in 2018, 900 billion KRW in 2019, and 1.2 trillion KRW in 2020. Revenue has also surged. After surpassing 100 billion KRW in 2018, the company recorded 331.9 billion KRW in revenue in 2020. During its Black Friday event in December 2020, MUSINSA generated a staggering 74.3 billion KRW in sales, surprising the fashion industry. Both revenue and operating profit grew explosively. (Figure 1) Amid these impressive results, MUSINSA raised 200 billion KRW from Sequoia Capital in November 2019, becoming the 10th unicorn company in South Korea. In March 2021, it secured an additional 130 billion KRW in investment from Sequoia Capital and IMM Investment, boosting its corporate valuation to 2.5 trillion KRW.

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