South Korea’s E-Land Group running fashion, restaurant chain, retail and leisure businesses is phasing out of women’s apparel to focus on fast-fashion and sports brands for younger target.

The retail and fashion conglomerate said Tuesday that it sent letters on Monday to potential financial and strategic investors to sell its six women’s wear brands. Its financial advisor is Samsung Securities.

The brands are Mixxo, Roem, Eblin, Clavis, W9 and EnC who generated an average of 300 billion won in sales ($271 million) per year.

“The fashion portfolio restructuring is aimed at enhancing competitiveness of each fashion division of SPA, sports and female,” an official from the group said, adding that it is also considering forming a strategic partnership with a buyer of the female fashion division after the sale.

In addition, E-Land is accelerating its transition to online platform. The group said Tuesday that its online sales in October amounted to 103.9 billion won, soaring 130 percent from the same month a year ago and exceeding 100 billion won for the first time. It has been successfully cashing in on the increasing demand for online shopping, by recording more than 700 billion won from online sales since the beginning of the year, up more than 70 percent from last year.

The group official said its online sales are expected to reach 1 trillion won given the year-end peak demand, adding that it will further strengthen efforts to improve online business by restructuring portfolio and cooperating with platform providers.

Founded in 1980 as a fashion store named ‘England’ in a busy university town in Seoul by chairman Park Sung-su, E-land group now has four business departments – fashion with brands like SPAO and New Balance, retail including NC and NewCore, dining including Ashley and Nature Kitchen and leisure including Kensington hotel and resort. Last year it made 10 trillion won in sales in total, of which retail sector took up 45 percent and fashion 35 percent.

By Shim Sang-dae and Choi Mira

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