Samsung C&T Fashion Group’s womenswear designer brand Kuho will launch in the US market next spring.
Introduced in a presentation during New York Fashion Week, the label will be available in department stores early next year.
Kuho was established in 1997 by fashion designer Jung Kuho. It was acquired by Cheil Industries (now Samsung C&T) in 2003 and now records more than 100 billion won (US$89.52 million) in yearly sales.
“We believe that the style and lifestyle of Kuho will be a good fit for the US market,” says Samsung VP for global expansion Jean Colin, who previously worked for Fendi, Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, and was involved in the Galleria Department Store renewal in Seoul.
Samsung C&T Fashion Group CEO Lee Seo-Hyun recruited Colin last year and created the global expansion team, tasking it with globalising Korean fashion.
Lee’s global strategies began to bear fruits this year. Menswear label Juun.J senior director/fashion designer Jung Wook-jun was featured designer at the Pitti Uomo menswear show in Florence in January – a first for Korea. US department store Neiman Marcus is reportedly selling Juun.J this autumn.
Meanwhile, Samsung C&T’s SPA (specialty store retailer of private-label apparel) label 8 Seconds is set to open its first flagship store in Shanghai.
