Itochu taking Ocean Pacific clothing brand to South Korea

Japan's Itochu will begin distributing American casual apparel brand Ocean Pacific in South Korea next year with a local partner, sources told Nikkei.

The trading house will put OP-brand swimwear and clothing into South Korean department stores via a licensing agreement with Woosung I.B., starting with the spring/summer 2017 collection, reported Nikkei.

A Seoul flagship store is in the works for 2018. Sales of 20 billion won ($18.1 million) in the country, mainly from clothing such as T-shirts, are targeted in five years.

OP, founded in the U.S. state of California, is proving people with young people in Japan. Itochu holds trademark rights to the brand in this country and the majority of Asian markets. The brand could hit Southeast Asian nations such as Thailand next through licensing agreements with local partners, said the source.

Kosdaq-listed Woosung, originally a manufacturer of marine sporting goods such as surfboards and boats, has branched out into retail, aiming to capitalise on the growing popularity of such activities in South Korea.