How Hansem’s 2026 Strategy Aims to Boost Profitability Amid Fashion Industry Challenges

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To respond to shifting consumer trends and secure its mid- to long-term vision, the company will focus on three core strategies: restore profitability, fuse online and offline channels, and actively pursue new initiatives. Kim Min-deok, CEO of Handsome (020000), shared these plans at the company’s 38th Long-Term Shareholders’ Meeting at its Gangnam headquarters on the 24th.

Kim said the immediate priority is to restore profitability. In the short term, Handsome will tighten cost controls, eliminate inefficiencies, and strengthen inventory management to improve margins quickly.

This year, Handsome will keep rebuilding its value chain—not just to recover performance, but to lay a firmer foundation for sustainable mid- to long-term growth.

Kim also unveiled a plan to deepen customer engagement by blending online and offline channels. With tastes and needs becoming increasingly segmented, Handsome will combine the strengths of both channels to offer customers a seamless, convenient shopping experience anytime, anywhere.

Finally, Kim emphasized the company will actively test fresh ideas to successfully drive its future growth strategy.

To accelerate the global push for its key brands, Handsome will lean on the SYSTEM Paris flagship it opened last year and the standalone pop-up in a leading Paris department store to solidify its position as a global label.

The company also plans to expand its global collections across domestic flagship stores and major department store channels, aligning international rollout with local operations to deliver visible results.

In beauty, following the January merger with Handsome Life&, the company will boost operational efficiency and execute a steady expansion plan to turn the unit into a reliable engine of future growth.

On shareholder returns, Kim explained that last November Handsome disclosed a \”Corporate Value Enhancement Plan\” to support the government’s listed-company value-up program addressing domestic market undervaluation.

Key measures include setting cash dividend resources at 15% of adjusted operating profit for 2024–2027. After a 2024 share buyback and cancellation, the company retired 50% of its treasury shares in January this year.

Kim added that to achieve the mid- to long-term corporate value goals, Handsome will faithfully implement its shareholder return policy while continuing to strengthen the profitability of existing businesses and secure future growth drivers.