[Edaily Reporter KYUNG GYEYOUNG ] POND GROUP CO., LTD. is acquiring DS Fashion Company, a firm specializing in women’s fashion brands. The company plans to strengthen its women’s apparel lineup to diversify its fashion business portfolio while also accelerating its live commerce business, which has a high proportion of women’s apparel sales.

POND GROUP CO., LTD.(472850)The company announced on the 26th that it has signed an agreement to acquire a 51% stake in DS Fashion Company, a firm specializing in women’s fashion. The acquisition price was not disclosed. POND GROUP CO., LTD. plans to incorporate DS Fashion as a subsidiary as soon as the Korea Fair Trade Commission approves its review of the business combination notification.

DS Fashion specializes in rebranding well-known brands to align with online trends. It operates online licenses for women’s apparel brands such as Nine Six New York, BNX, GGPX, and Minimum Everyday, as well as its own brand, “Wished.” It recently secured licenses for the global brands “FOREVER 21” and “NINE WEST” and is preparing to launch them on online fashion platforms such as Musinsa, 29CM, and W Concept. Last year, the company recorded sales of 42 billion won.

With this acquisition, POND GROUP CO., LTD. is expanding its fashion business portfolio by adding women’s apparel lines to its existing sports and casual brands.

Synergies are also expected in the live commerce business, an area where POND GROUP CO., LTD. has recently been focusing its company-wide efforts. This is because women’s apparel accounts for a significant portion of the live commerce market. POND GROUP CO., LTD. plans to actively support strategic collaboration between DS Fashion and its affiliated companies, covering everything from product planning to sales.

It is reported that DS Fashion has also prepared to enter the live commerce market by establishing its own live broadcast studio to enable influencers to sell products. POND GROUP CO., LTD. believes that combining its business infrastructure—including “ClickMate,” “Hulk Warehouse,” and “Monad Drive”—with DS Fashion’s planning capabilities will accelerate the expansion of its live commerce business.

A POND GROUP CO., LTD. official stated, “The expansion of our women’s fashion lineup through this acquisition will provide momentum toward achieving our goals of over 5000억 won in live commerce transaction volume and a share of over 30% of the company’s total operating profit next year,” adding, “We will do our utmost to continuously create new growth opportunities alongside DS Fashion, which has a solid business foundation in the women’s apparel sector, so that this becomes a driving force for increasing our corporate value.”

A DS Fashion official said, “With this acquisition by POND GROUP CO., LTD., we plan to continue the stable operation of our existing online business while diversifying our business portfolio through the sourcing of products specifically tailored for live commerce and expansion into the general merchandise and accessories categories.” They added, “We also plan to accelerate our expansion through online collaborations with brands under the POND GROUP CO., LTD. umbrella.”