The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced that its first retail store, called LPGA Gallery, opened this week in South Korea in partnership with MK Trend. The store opening is just the start of the LPGA’s ambitious expansion in Korea and the Asia Pacific region.
In response to high demand, MK Trend plans to open more than a dozen stores in and around Seoul by September 2016, followed by a target of 100 stores by 2018. The LPGA Gallery will also open in China in two years.
MK Trend created over 300 styles for Fall/Winter 2016, which includes men’s and women’s apparel, as well as accessories. Styles will soon be featured on www.lpgagallery.com and the line includes a fun motif, youthful design, and performance wear.
Korea was selected as the launching market for the new apparel, given its fashion-forward population and the high popularity of golf and the LPGA. The LPGA opened its Asia office in Seoul in 2014 and has held an official LPGA tournament, the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship, in Korea for more than 10 years.
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In 2018, the UL International Crown will also be held in Korea, marking the first time the tournament will be hosted outside the United States. Currently, nine of the Top 20 players in the Rolex Rankings waive the Korean flag.
The LPGA Gallery is the product of a licensing partnership with Seoul-based MK Trend that started in 2015. MK Trend is a leading apparel company boasting a variety of brands, including the National Basketball Association (NBA), TBJ, and Buckaroo. The apparel company has enjoyed a licensing agreement with the NBA since 2011 under which it opened 102 NBA stores in Korea.
(Source: LPGA)