TREEMINGBIRD's Product Strength and the Jennie Effect
Sales up 636% after Jennie wore it. The competitiveness of a hero category that goes beyond the celebrity effect.
Fashion brand TREEMINGBIRD recently recorded a 636% increase in sales of a product worn by BLACKPINK's Jennie and a more than threefold increase in sales of a product worn by IVE's Rei, while its first-half pants sales rose 145% year over year.
That said, it's hard to view this growth as a simple celebrity effect. It's closer to a structure in which, with the pants category already drawing a solid response, celebrity exposure acted as a catalyst that made existing demand explode.
The Touchpoint That Turns Buzz into Purchases
If celebrities wearing a brand once stopped at "enhancing image" or "building awareness," today it works as a powerful sales touchpoint that drives immediate searches and purchases.
The moment a key product worn by an influential idol is exposed, it becomes much more likely to rise as a hero product in a short time. What matters is not the outfit itself, but how quickly that attention can be connected to search, content, inventory, and purchases.
It's necessary to see celebrity outfits not as a simple promotional tool, but as a sales conversion touchpoint that amplifies demand for existing products.
A Celebrity Effect That Took Off on Top of Product Strength
TREEMINGBIRD's growth is concentrated in a specific "hero category." Pants account for 24% of total sales and have driven growth, with key bestsellers going through as many as four reorders.
What stands out is that the No. 1 seller in the first half wasn't the product Jennie wore, but the "Double Waist Sagging Sweatpants." Rather than celebrity wear suddenly creating demand that didn't exist, celebrity outfits added extra explosive power on top of an already proven pants category.
In fact, sales of the product Jennie wore rising 636% month over month, and sales of the product Rei wore increasing more than threefold week over week, show that celebrity exposure can significantly boost demand for specific products.
HAGO HAUS's Brand-Building System
Behind TREEMINGBIRD's growth is also support from brand incubator HAGO HAUS. Drawing on its experience growing Matin Kim into a major brand, HAGO HAUS supports its portfolio brands across their entire business, including merchandise planning, distribution, and marketing.
When hard-to-predict buzz such as a celebrity outfit occurs, having the foundation to quickly connect it to product operations and expanded distribution also matters. In the TREEMINGBIRD case, this operational support structure, together with the brand's own product strength, can be seen as one factor that helped it not miss sales opportunities.
💡 Fashion Business Insights
Buyers: Look at "Product Strength and Reorder Structure" Before Buzz
When evaluating brands to source, rather than looking only at celebrity outfits or social media buzz, it's worth also checking whether the brand already has a hero category that sells repeatedly, and how quickly it can supply additional stock after selling out. Buzz can grow demand, but turning it into actual sales requires both product strength and supply responsiveness.
Marketers: Design the "Conversion Speed" After a Celebrity Outfit
When a celebrity outfit moment happens, what matters is not who wore it, but how quickly the attention concentrated on that product can be turned into purchases. It's important to quickly link search exposure, social media content, product pages, and inventory operations to turn the moment of peak interest into a sales opportunity.
MD and merchandise planning: Add buzz to categories that are already getting a response
As in the TREEMINGBIRD case, when a celebrity outfit is added to a pants category with confirmed sales response, demand for specific products can expand significantly. Rather than growing all products evenly, it's also worth considering focusing merchandise planning and reorder capacity on core categories where repeat sales have been confirmed.
💡 EDITORIAL SMALL TALK
Behind the 636% figure was solid product strength and a reorder structure that went beyond a simple celebrity effect. Celebrity outfits were added as a catalyst on top of a category foundation proven by the No. 1 product's fourth reorder, and a well-prepared operations and distribution structure turned the increased demand into actual sales. The key lies not in "who wore it," but in the speed at which proven product strength was combined with buzz and converted into fast sales.
