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- Business is booming with exclusive rights for sale in China of HANDSOME brands and more than 30 shops are expected to be secured within this year.
- The synergy between the two companies will be created by combining our successful experience in the fashion industry in China.
- Coming closer to our dream to become a major player in the fashion industry in China through the addition of HANDSOME brands to O’2nd.

SK networks ((President: Lee Chang-kyu) has seen remarkable growth in the global fashion industry and the company announced on June 5th that the fashion business in China will be further reinforced through the full-fledged advancement of ‘HANDSOME’ brands into the Chinese market. SK networks have secured the exclusive rights for sale of HANDSOME brands in China.

SK networks has laid the groundwork for a full-fledged business by securing a total of 10 including the recent side-by-side opening of the shops for ‘SYSTEM’ and ‘SJSJ’ HANDSOME brands in the highest-class department stores in major Chinese cities such as Beijing XinGuangTianDi and Shanghai Meilongzhen.

Beijing XinGuangTianDi is the No. 1 department store in China in sales where famous international fashion brands including luxury brands are being sold. Shanghai Meilongzhen is also a high-class shopping mall located in Nanjingxilu, a representative commercial district in Shanghai. All fashion brands desire to enter the two department stores because operating there itself symbolizes that the growth potential in China of such brands is recognized.

SK networks is planning to increase the number of shops to 30 within the year by opening more shops in major commercial districts such as the financial district in Beijing and also to introduce 3 more brands :TIME, TIME HOMME and MINE.

Last year, SK networks secured the exclusive rights for distribution in China of Korea’s best super brands TIME, TIME HOMME, MINE, SYSTEM, SYSTEM HOMME and SJSJ by signing a contract for exclusive sales right in China with HANDSOME, a representative professional fashion company. As a result, the company’s fashion portfolio has seen a major upgrade.

A spokesperson at SK networks said, “The Chinese fashion industry recorded almost 100 billion dollars of sales volume in 2011 and is expected to repeat an explosive growth reaching 700 billion dollars in 2020. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, we desperately need to continue introducing high-quality brands of superior design and diverse product characteristics. The combination of the two companies has resulted from such a situation. We look forward to achieving ideal synergy effects between these two companies in the Chinese market.”

Meanwhile, O’2nd, having advanced into China in 2009, took the first and second place in sales among imported women’s clothing brands currently being sold in HangZhouDaSha and Shanghai Ganghui and is recording more than 100% growth rates every year. Last year, O’2nd succeeded in entering Barney’s New York, one of the best department stores in the U.S., strengthening its position as a global luxury brand. The brand is planning to open an independent flagship store in SoHo, the center of fashion and culture in New York.

In addition, SK networks successfully launched New York-based ‘Hanii Y’ brand in the Chinese market in 2010.

A spokesperson for SK networks’ fashion business said, “We will speed up our business with the HANDSOME brands in the Chinese market using our business capabilities and successful experience accumulated through the advancement of our own brands O’2nd, Hanii Y and others into the global market with the ambition to become a major player in the fashion industry in China. This will be accomplished through a localization strategy utilizing the knowhow of the high-end distribution network of China.”

The business world is closely watching to see if SK networks, which has been authoring a new history in the Korean fashion industry with global success stories, can realize its dream to become a major player in the fashion industry in China through the addition of various high-quality HANDSOME brands.