DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA (December 3, 2015) – The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) today announced a new licensing partnership with MK Trend, a leader in men’s and women’s casual apparel based in South Korea. MK Trend earns exclusive rights to the official LPGA logo through the seven-year deal and plans to launch a brand new golf apparel line and accessories for the upcoming 2016 Fall/Winter season. The LPGA will be the second sports association to join MK Trend’s apparel brand portfolio, which already includes a partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA).
“The LPGA entered the partnership with MK Trend because we were greatly impressed by their global business mindset, transparent management and operation practices as a public company,” said Sean Pyun, LPGA Managing Director of International Business Affairs. “Through this partnership, we believe we can communicate with Korean fans more closely. With the extensive success that MK Trend has had with their apparel in Asia, we are thrilled to welcome them to the LPGA family.”
MK Trend plans to open 10 LPGA shop-in-shops in Korea by the end of 2016 and will open LPGA street shops in 2017. By the end of 2020, MK Trend will have opened a combined 105 LPGA shops – shop-in-shops, street shops and premium outlet shops.
“We are so excited to partner with a leader in the fashion industry like MK Trend,” said Anne McCarthy, Director of Licensing and Merchandising for the LPGA. “From their fashion forward looks to their experience in launching lines for other prominent sports organizations like the NBA, MK Trend is a perfect fit to launch this new LPGA golf apparel line.”
“We partnered with the LPGA to launch a unique golf apparel brand,” said Michael Kim, MK Trend President. “The LPGA prides itself on being a global tour and MK Trend shares that same global vision,”
MK Trend owns top brands such as TBJ, ANDEW and BUCKROO. The iconic NBA brand, which targets the youth market with street casual style apparel, entered into a licensing agreement in 2011, and since then, boasts 102 NBA stores in South Korea. Additionally, the NBA brand launched in China last June and has successfully opened 70 locations nationwide. MK Trend expects that number in mainland China to increase to 160 stores by the end of 2016.
To ensure the successful launch of the LPGA Golf apparel brand, MK Trend intends to establish a business unit and strategic operations by mid-December.
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