South Korean fashion brands offering great value for money are gaining popularity as inflation persists. E-Land Retail’s fashion brand ‘NC Basic,’ introduced in 2023, saw a sales surge of over tenfold in just four months at NC Department Store, prompting plans for a significant retail expansion.

According to E-Land Retail on Sunday, NC Basic plans to more than double its current 13 stores to over 30 in 2024, leveraging the sales growth momentum from existing outlets, with the decision coming four months after the brand’s debut with three NC Department Store locations in September 2023. NC Basic, positioned as a high-value brand by E-Land Retail, has been in the spotlight since its launch for offering high-quality basic clothing at reasonable prices.

Items like windbreakers for 9,900 won ($7.4), sweaters for 19,900 won, shirts for 19,900 won, and jeans for 19,900 won quickly made waves, standing out with prices one-third of comparable SPA brands including Uniqlo or Top Ten.

NC Basic has garnered a reputation as a value-for-money brand since its launch, particularly among the younger demographic, and its fall and winter collections from 2023 were consistently sold out. The store’s sales per square meter within NC Department Stores were more than ten times the average for regular stores.

Offline stores for NC Basic, which are set to open this year, will come in two forms. The first is the ‘NC Basic Store,’ focusing solely on the brand’s basic clothing line, and the second is the ‘Mixed Store,’ which has been expanded to include a women’s clothing line. The latter will collaborate with established department store women’s career brands, targeting a wider age range. The collaboration will offer a range of items, including jackets, T-shirts, and slacks, for the 2024 spring-summer season.

NC Basic will also expand its spring-summer collection in 2024 after analyzing the previous year’s sales volume trends. It will drastically increase its spring and summer production volume by six times to make NC Basic clothing affordable for even more customers.

By Kim Hyo-hye and Minu Kim

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