South Korean conglomerate E-Land Group is pulling its OTZ Shoes brand from the US market, six years after buying it.
E-land Group, through its subsidiary E-Land USA Holdings, bought the California-based OTZ Shoes at US$8.5 million in 2013. But now, the conglomerate has decided to withdraw the brand from the country and develop it in South Korea instead, completing its exit from the US footwear market.
OTZ will be marketed as a private brand in South Korea by its fashion unit E-Land World and will be sold at its multi-shoe brand store Folder. The brand is aimed at catering to young customers aged 15 to 25.
Aside from growing the brand at home, E-Land Group says it plans to boost its sales overseas to achieve its target of 50 billion won (US$43 million) sales annually.
E-Land Group sold its subsidiary E-Land Footwear, which owns brands K-Swiss, Palladium, Supra, PLDM and KR3W, to Chinese sportswear company Xtep International Holdings for US$260 million three months ago.
E-Land Group is Korea’s largest integrated fashion and retail company, owning around 250 brands and operating more than 10,000 stores worldwide.
