Musinsa, South Korea’s largest online fashion platform, has taken a step closer to a potential initial public offering by initiating the search for lead underwriters, a move the company frames as key to fueling its next phase of growth.
According to the retailer Wednesday, it began distributing requests for proposals to multiple financial institutions the previous day to advance discussions on its long-anticipated stock market debut.
“An initial public offering is one of the key strategic options under consideration to support sustainable growth and global expansion,” a company official said.
While speculation about the online fashion giant’s public debut has circulated for years, the concrete discussion started to materialize in June when CEO Park Joon-mo publicly underscored the strategic value of a stock market listing during a corporate presentation.
“Our global business began in earnest in 2022, and we require strategic investment to support offline expansion and logistics infrastructure,” Park said. “We see an IPO as one of the key financing tools essential to driving this global growth.”
He added that the company is carefully assessing the timing and conditions for the IPO, noting that “the timing and funding costs are critical factors in going public.”
Market estimates place the company’s valuation as high as 10 trillion won ($7.2 billion), nearly triple the 3.5 trillion won it achieved during its Series C funding round in 2023. If the IPO moves forward, industry insiders say it could serve as a bellwether for the nation’s fashion sector.
Founded in 2001 as a sneaker enthusiast community, Musinsa has evolved into a leading force in fashion e-commerce, while steadily expanding its offline presence through its private-label brand, Musinsa Standard, and actively extending its global footprint.
After establishing a Japanese unit in 2021, Musinsa launched a Chinese subsidiary earlier this year and plans to open its first curated store in Tokyo next year. An offline multi-brand store in Shanghai is also in the pipeline, with further expansion under review in Singapore, Thailand and other international markets.
These offline initiatives complement Musinsa’s global online store, which currently operates in 13 countries, including Japan, Australia and the United States. Through this combined strategy, the company aims to achieve 3 trillion won in global annual gross merchandise volume by 2030.
Musinsa’s financial performance has reflected its upward trajectory. In the first quarter of this year, revenue rose 12.6 percent on-year to 292.9 billion won, while operating profit increased 17.6 percent to 17.6 billion won.
minmin@heraldcorp.com
