Korean Athleisure Shake-Up: Once-Buzzing MulaWear Faces Corporate Rehab Exit
Creatrip Team
20 days ago
Seoul Bankruptcy Court recently terminated corporate rehabilitation for Mula (operator of MulaWear), a first-generation Korean athleisure brand that once posted annual sales of 30 billion won. The court said Mula failed to submit a restructuring plan in time and that liquidation value outweighed going-concern value, effectively ending its chance of recovery. The company had accumulated some 33.5 billion won in losses from 2020–2023 after early success and investor attention. Industry observers say the domestic athleisure market—now worth about 1 trillion won—has undergone 'filtering' as top local players like Andar and Jeximix dominate and global names (e.g., Lululemon, Alo) expand in Korea. Market leaders reported strong recent sales (Andar ~298.7 billion won; Jeximix ~274.1 billion won), while global entrants are growing fast. In response, Korean brands are accelerating overseas expansion (Japan, Singapore, Australia, US, Taiwan, China, Southeast Asia) to diversify revenue and secure growth, with some brands treating exports as a future 'cash cow' and a way to validate K-fashion performance products abroad. (O4O = online-to-offline strategy)
