[Click eStock] "FSN Transforms into a 'Branding Company'... Performance Turnaround Led by Boosters"

On March 23, Hana Securities analyzed that FSN has been continuing its performance improvement trend by transforming itself from a company focused on marketing to a 'branding company' that grows its own brands.

Chansol Park, a researcher at Hana Securities, stated, "FSN is a company that provides comprehensive branding for products and services by leveraging its capabilities in marketing, branding, and platform sectors," adding, "The company is expanding its business beyond marketing other companies' brands to directly nurturing its own brands."

The business structure is also rapidly changing. As of last year, the revenue breakdown was 26.0% from marketing and 74.0% from branding and platforms, establishing a brand-centered structure. Although profitability deteriorated during the past expansion into the fintech business, the company has seen significant improvement in performance over the past three years, driven by the growth of its key subsidiary, Boosters.

Park commented, "Over the past three years, Boosters, the brand accelerator and core subsidiary, has grown to a significant scale, leading to a major turnaround in performance."

In 2025, on a consolidated basis, FSN recorded revenue of 272.3 billion won (up 47.0% year-on-year) and operating profit of 30.5 billion won (up 175.0% year-on-year, with an operating margin of 11.2%). Net loss came to 15.1 billion won, but this was mainly due to a one-time loss from the sale of a loss-making subsidiary. When excluding this factor, the company turned profitable as a going concern.

Boosters is the core driver of FSN's growth. It operates by forming equity investment partnerships with various brands, securing exclusive domestic and international distribution rights, and jointly sharing marketing costs to grow the brands. Representative brands include 'Le Mouton', 'Lingtea', and 'Didakneck'. In particular, Le Mouton has shown outstanding growth. Park highlighted, "When Le Mouton was generating 10 billion won in annual sales, FSN invested in equity and grew the topline by a factor of 15."

Le Mouton's flagship product, 'Mate', has achieved cumulative sales of 1.5 million pairs, and based on an average selling price (ASP) of 110,000 won, it is estimated that the single product has generated about 165 billion won in cumulative revenue. In addition, 1 to 2 new products are launched each year, and offline store expansion is also underway. The number of offline stores increased from 16 in 2024 to 25 in 2025.

The company is also accelerating its overseas expansion. The Japanese market is estimated to be about twice the size of the domestic market, and FSN has already entered Qoo10 and Rakuten. From May 2026, the company plans to operate offline pop-up stores in Japan as well.

However, some uncertainties remain for investment decisions. These include whether and when 8.5 billion won worth of convertible bonds (CBs) will be converted, the specific store expansion plans for Le Mouton, and the strategy for the Japanese market, all of which are not yet clear.

Accordingly, Park said, "At this point, it is difficult to assess whether or when the 8.5 billion won worth of CBs will be converted, as well as the specific plans for Le Mouton's store expansion and the growth strategy for Japan, so it is not possible to present an investment opinion."

Nevertheless, the growth trajectory remains clear. He added, "Since FSN has paved the way for growth through Boosters so far, the investment focus for 2026 will also be on brand growth through Boosters. Attention should be paid to the growth potential of the branding segment in 2026, as well as the performance improvement expected from the removal of HyperCorporation, a loss-making subsidiary, from consolidated results as of February 2026. FSN is a company that requires future tracking."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.