【South Korea】[Corporate Growth Strategy M&A ➊] M&A as a Key Corporate Growth Strategy: Global to Korea’s Interweaving Alliances

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are emerging as a crucial strategy for corporate growth. Particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, as the global fashion market landscape is being reshaped, cross-border M&A across industries and companies is actively taking place. Excluding the SPA sector, which requires large-scale capital and organizational strength, alliances and mergers are gaining momentum across the global fashion market, from luxury to lifestyle and specialized sectors.

In the European fashion and luxury sector, M&A is the most important keyword. Major groups like LVMH, which finalized the acquisition of the iconic American luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co. in 2021, and Kering, which expanded its scale by acquiring ‘Gucci,’ have amassed a significant portfolio of brands over the past decades through various fashion and luxury-focused M&A deals.

The region with the most active M&A deals in the first half of this year was the United States, accounting for 61% of global M&A (PwC). Since the 2010s, China has begun aggressively acquiring Western brands based on its accumulated production know-how and capital.

The Korean fashion market, which slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, is also seeing a renewed spread of M&A activity. This year, the focus is on expanding into offline and global markets or new categories to drive growth.

As M&A activity increases, failure cases are also emerging. An M&A industry insider stated:

The current status of M&A underway in the global fashion market has been diagnosed.