Early cold weather and Black Friday promotions helped South Korea’s fashion sector rebound in Q4. Samsung C&T’s fashion division posted Q4 sales of 560 billion KRW and operating profit of 45 billion KRW, up 3.51% and 4.65% year-on-year, respectively; full-year sales surpassed 2 trillion KRW for the fourth straight year despite lower annual operating profit due to higher marketing costs. LF reported 1.8812 trillion KRW in annual sales and operating profit of 169.4 billion KRW; its Q4 revenue rose 6.6% to 596.5 billion KRW while operating profit jumped 202.9% to 78.9 billion KRW, driven by strong performance from brands like Hazzys (헤지스), Barbour (바버) and Kin. Estimates suggest other retailers—such as Shinsegae International and Hansem (한섬)—also saw significant Q4 improvements. Analysts attribute the recovery to earlier-than-usual cold weather boosting sales of higher-priced winter outerwear and the success of large promotions like Black Friday, which revived consumer sentiment and margins.
