Handsome, a fashion specialist under Hyundai Department Store Group, has taken a gamble in Paris, the heart of fashion.
According to industry sources on the 24th, Handsome's own fashion brands "System" and "System Homme" (hereafter referred to as System) are set to hold a fashion show for their Spring/Summer 2026 new products at the Grand Palais in Paris on the 26th (local time), during Paris Fashion Week.
The Grand Palais, located on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, is a historic building built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle. It is particularly famous as the venue for the Chanel fashion show that closes Paris Fashion Week. Chanel also sponsored 25 million euros (approximately 39.5 billion won) for the renovation work that has been ongoing for three years since 2021, which is why attention is focused on System, a K-fashion brand.
System has participated in Paris Fashion Week twice a year since 2019. The theme of this year's fashion show, held for the 14th time, is "Office Daydream."
Handsome has been working to target the global market through Paris since 2013. In August of that year, it established a Paris local subsidiary named Handsome Paris in the Marais district of Paris and has been operating its own editing shop, "Tom Greyhound," since the following year.
Since 2019, it has been participating in Paris Fashion Week with the System brand. System is a domestic brand launched by Handsome in 1990, showcasing women's and men's clothing. Its annual sales are estimated to be around 250 billion won, including women's and men's clothing.
Last June, the Tom Greyhound store was remodeled into a System flagship store (main store). This store is the largest among the 150 System stores, spanning 470 square meters (approximately 142 pyeong), showcasing over 400 types of global exclusive products from System, including clothing and accessories. Last year, sales achieved 130% of the target.
Additionally, since last July, it has been operating a System pop-up store (temporary store) at the main store of the famous Paris department store, Galeries Lafayette, for a year. A company official noted, "We are in discussions about opening standalone stores in major Asian department stores, including Printemps and Bon Marché."
Another in-house brand of Handsome, Time, is also targeting the Paris market. Time held a presentation at Paris Fashion Week last September and is set to hold a fashion show in Paris again this September.
Since acquiring Handsome in 2012, the Hyundai Department Store Group has been expanding its fashion business. Sales, which were less than 500 billion won at the time of the acquisition, increased to 1.4835 trillion won last year, approximately tripling. However, last year's operating profit was 63.5 billion won, a decrease of about 37% compared to the previous year. In the first quarter of this year, sales and operating profit also decreased by 3% and 33%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Industry analysts point out that the domestic-centered business structure has resulted in this outcome due to the economic downturn. For this reason, Handsome's targeting of the global market is interpreted as an inevitable choice to overcome the crisis.
Kim Min-deok, president of Handsome, stated at the regular shareholders' meeting in March, "To actively utilize the flagship store of System, which opened last year, and the standalone pop-up store operating at a representative department store in Paris to solidify our position as a global brand, we will fully accelerate the global expansion of our core brands."
For the same reasons, competitors are also focusing on market penetration abroad. LF has entered the Indian market after China and Vietnam with Hedge. KOLON Industries' FnC division is targeting the Chinese and Japanese markets with KOLON Sports and Gefo. Samsung C&T plans to open an Eight Seconds store in the Philippines in the second half of this year.
A representative of Handsome said, "By making Paris, France, the global center of fashion, a bastion for our global expansion, we will enhance brand recognition and expand our sales network to leap forward as a global brand."