Korea's outdoor clothing segment, ranging right from the waterproof coats to hiking pants, is experiencing soaring demand from Koreans belonging to all age groups, who in greater proportions are assuming a sporty look and giving more time to leisure activities.
The apparel sector has not yet been able to fully recover from the effects of the 2008-09's economic crisis, which badly hit the clothing manufacturers. At this point in time, it is only the outdoor apparel segment that turned out with excellent performance, with leading outdoor apparel brands like the K2, North Face and Kolon Sport registering record turnover throughout the crisis period.
According to the statistics released by the Korea Federation of Textile Industries, the segment's domestic market turnover for the current year crossed three trillion won that is S$3.3 billion, which is 50 percent more than last year's turnover and six times higher than the turnover registered 10 years back.
The economic crunch gave a boost to the outdoor clothing market as people started turning towards leisure activities like trekking, hiking, camping, etc., in place of expensive activities like golf.
The rise in these activities and use of apparels is also driven by a rapidly aging population which has popularized outdoor sports and fitness activities. Moreover, mountains cover 70 percent of the area in the country, so there has been a surge in the number of the regular climbers which is now touching 10 million.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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