Samsung C&T Debut
The Fashion Division of Samsung C&T has developed a strategy to generate 10 trillion won (US$8.39 billion) in sales by 2020 by fostering its own brand of IT-based wearable platforms applied to fashion items as its new growth engine. The company plans to turn over more than half of the sales target of 10 trillion won (US$8.39 billion) in the global markets, making wearable devices as its major source.
In an interview on Sept. 5 with reporters at the IFA 2015 Berlin in Germany, Samsung C&T Fashion Group CEO Yoon Joo-hwa said, “Samsung C&T Fashion Division has set up a goal of becoming the leader in the wearable industry, based on fashion. Since the wearable sector is the new growth engine for sure, it will play an important role in boosting sales of the company.”
The Fashion Division of Samsung C&T displayed four new products of “The Human Fit,” its brand for wearable platforms, at the IFA 2015. This is the first official event to participate in after the new Samsung C&T has been launched from its merger with Cheil Industries on Sept. 1. The Human Fit is a fashion brand of a wearable platform integrated with the Internet of Things (IoT).
The four products include the Smart Suit, which can exchange business cards via smartphones; the Perfect Wallet; the On Bag, an IT purse with a built-in battery module that can charge a smartphone without a cable; and the Body Compass, a bio-smart shirt that can track the user’s heart rate through sensors.
This is the first time for a fashion company, including the Fashion Division of Samsung C&T, to take part in the IFA. Generally, electronic firms, which produce home appliances such as TVs, washing machines, and refrigerators, participate in the IFA. Yoon said, “We’ve thinking of taking part in exhibitions in the electronics industry for a long time. Ushering in a new era of IoT, we decided to enter the exhibition in a bid to make a new business model.”
He explained that the wearable platform brand is the major weapon to target global markets, saying, “After the merger with Cheil Industries, we need to improve the quality of general businesses in order to accomplish the goal of generating 10 trillion won [US$8.39 billion] in sales by 2020. The most important part is global businesses. We are planning to turn over half of the sales in the global markets. We will create a great synergy effect with the trading division of Samsung C&T, which secures various global networks.”
Yoon also said, “As Samsung C&T’s Smart Suit has been introduced by men's fashion brand Rogatis since its 2013 F/W collection, it is already making profits. Although the integration of wearable devices and fashion is still in the early stages, commercialized products have been continuously releasing, leading to the growth of the market.”
He added, “Since Samsung is the only group that encompasses the electronics and fashion businesses, it can create bigger synergy effects. We think wearable devices are the big opportunity for not only the fashion division of Samsung C&T but also Samsung Electronics. Accordingly, we will work well together.”