Helinox's Next Step

Helinox Wear, which opened its first flagship store at Dosan Park on September 10, made two distinct moves in October. On October 10, it opened a pop-up store at IAPM in Shanghai, China, and on the 13th, it is launching the OPEN YY collection, its first collaboration with an outside brand in Korea.

In China, it is stepping up its market entry with a space that integrates gear and wear, while in Korea, it is broadening the stylistic range of its products through a collaboration with a Seoul-based women's designer brand. From the early days of its launch, the brand is expanding its distribution bases and developing its product planning at the same time.

Shanghai IAPM: Gear and Wear in One Space

On October 12, Kolon FnC announced that it had launched "Helinox China," a joint venture with Helinox headquarters, and secured the business rights for both gear and wear in China. While gear and wear are operated separately in Korea, in China it is applying a "One Branding" strategy that presents both product categories in a single space.

The first base is "TAKE A SEAT SHANGHAI," a pop-up store at IAPM, a high-end shopping mall in Shanghai. Running from October 10 to 27, it presents wear products such as the Eclipse Pack down jacket and vest, along with China-exclusive mugs and chairs. An urban-themed camp is also being held on Nanchang Road through October 31.

Online growth also lies behind the expansion of the China business. Tmall sales for the first half of 2026 increased 114% compared with the same period in 2025. Helinox Wear plans to open official stores at IAPM and ITC in December, and to secure more than 30 stores by 2030, centered on high-end shopping malls in China's major tier-one cities. It's a move to connect demand confirmed online to the expansion of offline bases.

Helinox Wear Meets OPEN YY

While expanding its distribution and spaces in China, the brand is presenting its first collaboration with an outside brand in Korea. Its partner is OPEN YY, a Seoul-based fashion brand.

OPEN YY was founded in 2020 by designer sisters Kim Jiyoung and Kim Boyoung. The brand creates designs that reinterpret the sensibility of the 1990s and early 2000s for today, with asymmetric silhouettes, cutouts, and exposed hemlines. It has built a distribution network that includes its Hannam-dong flagship store, The Hyundai Seoul, and major online select shops in Korea, and continues global distribution through HBX.

The collaboration consists of a women's line combining Helinox's functional design with OPEN YY's urban womenswear sensibility. Centered on outerwear featuring the Eclipse silhouette and the signature trooper cap, it comes in purple, silver, and navy, and is set for release on October 13.

If Helinox Wear has extended the lightness and functionality that began with its gear into clothing, the collaboration with OPEN YY is an attempt to express that through urban style. While keeping its functional elements, it adds a new design language, proposing styling possibilities different from conventional outdoor products.

Space in China, Style in Korea

Though the two moves head in different directions, they share the goal of broadening the brand's touchpoints. In China, the brand is pursuing synergy between product categories through stores that integrate gear and wear, while in Korea, it is expanding the design range of its wear through a collaboration with a women's contemporary brand.

One is an expansion of distribution structure and brand experience; the other, an expansion of product planning and customer base. Helinox Wear is preparing for the brand's next step by applying different approaches in different markets.

💡 EDITOR'S SMALL TALK

The two moves Helinox Wear made in October show different paths for brand expansion. In China, it brought gear and wear together in one space; in Korea, it broadened the stylistic range of its functional apparel through a collaboration with OPEN YY.

Rather than applying the same strategy to every market as a brand grows, an approach that varies the method of expansion to fit local distribution environments and customer bases is worth referencing.