In the F

Founded in 1980 and listed on the KOSPI in 1989, In the F is a fashion specialist that operates multiple in-house brands, including women's wear lines Joinus, Compania, and Awi, men's wear brand Trugen, casual brand TATE, and multi-brand retail concepts BIND and Mossbany.

The fashion segment carries brands such as Joinus, Compania, Awi, Trugen, TATE, BIND, and Mossbany, with Joinus, BIND, and Compania accounting for a large share of sales. The fashion business represents an overwhelming majority of total revenue, as the fashion segment accounted for 99.7% of total sales.

Its consolidated subsidiary Nasan Industry operates a facility management business, which is a peripheral operation separate from the core apparel business.

Production relies on an outsourcing-centered model that sources fabric domestically and overseas and produces through contracted manufacturers both in Korea and abroad. Sales are centered on offline channels such as department stores and franchise outlets, alongside expanding online and new distribution channels.

Competition has intensified as large domestic conglomerate fashion affiliates and global brands expand their presence in the Korean market.

The company is an apparel firm affiliated with the SeAH Group, and it is regarded as a representative inter-Korean economic cooperation stock due to its history of operating in the Kaesong Industrial Complex since 2008.

Consolidated revenue fell for four straight years, from KRW 135.3 billion in 2022 to KRW 126.5 billion in 2023, KRW 114.7 billion in 2024, and KRW 104.6 billion in 2025.

Profitability, however, gradually improved: operating losses of KRW 13.02 billion (margin -9.6%) in 2022, KRW 2.70 billion (-2.1%) in 2023, and KRW 0.83 billion (-0.7%) in 2024 turned into an operating profit of KRW 1.19 billion (1.1%) in 2025.

Net income attributable to owners followed a similar pattern, narrowing from a loss of KRW 10.17 billion in 2022 to KRW 1.65 billion in 2023 and KRW 1.36 billion in 2024, before shrinking further to a loss of just KRW 0.11 billion in 2025.

On a quarterly basis, the company posted revenue of KRW 27.3 billion, operating profit of KRW 1.80 billion, and net profit of KRW 1.37 billion in Q2 2025, but the seasonally weak Q3 2025 saw revenue drop to KRW 22.0 billion with an operating loss of KRW 2.39 billion and a net loss of KRW 3.14 billion, showing significant volatility.

The company then swung back to profit in Q4 2025 with revenue of KRW 30.4 billion, operating profit of KRW 2.86 billion, and net profit of KRW 3.46 billion, lifting the full-year result.

Momentum continued into 2026, with Q1 revenue of KRW 24.3 billion and operating profit of KRW 0.50 billion, though net income slipped to a small loss of KRW 0.28 billion, before Q2 returned to profit with revenue of KRW 28.3 billion, operating profit of KRW 2.28 billion, and net profit of KRW 1.51 billion.

Summing net income attributable to owners across the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026) yields about KRW 1.54 billion, indicating that despite quarterly swings, profitability has been sustained on an annualized basis.

The debt ratio moved from 215.6% in 2022 down to 191.7% in 2023, back up to 220.5% in 2024, and eased slightly to 205.5% in 2025, fluctuating around the 200% level throughout.

Korea's fashion market peaked at KRW 48.4 trillion in 2023 and has contracted for three consecutive years since, with market research firm TrendResearch forecasting the 2026 Korean fashion market at KRW 44.4955 trillion, down 4.7% from the prior year.

TrendResearch characterized 2026 as a year of structural adjustment rather than growth, judging that the expansion cycle has effectively concluded.

By sub-category, the casual wear market is projected to shrink from KRW 18.8407 trillion in 2024 to KRW 16.6399 trillion in 2026, meaning the very segments where In the F is concentrated—women's wear and casual—face a structurally shrinking environment.

At the same time, signs of a bottoming cycle have emerged: the Samsung Fashion Institute forecast roughly 2% growth for Korea's fashion market in 2026, and a survey found that average department store fashion transaction value rose about 10% month-over-month since domestic consumption began recovering in October 2025.

Brokerage research has also touched on sector valuation, as Shinhan Investment Corp. stated in a June 2026 report that the expected price-to-earnings ratios of listed textile and apparel companies remained far below the distribution-sector average.

However, that report's preferred picks were larger brand and OEM names such as Hansae and Youngone, without separately addressing smaller domestic brand operators like In the F, underscoring a divide within the sector based on scale and brand power.

On the competitive front, large conglomerate-affiliated fashion units and expanding global brands continue to pressure smaller domestic brand companies' market share.

According to company disclosures, the 2025 earnings improvement was driven by profitability gains from replacing inefficient stores and cost-cutting efforts, which is cited as the reason operating profit turned positive even as revenue declined.

At the same time, prolonged consumption weakness from the global economic slowdown, along with intensified competition from new brand launches and expanding global brands in Korea, continues to weigh on revenue.

On the industry front, signs of improving domestic consumer sentiment have emerged since the second half of 2025, with the apparel category showing roughly 8% average monthly year-over-year growth, with sales gains continuing across categories including women's casual and men's wear.

However, since this recovery has largely been observed among large brands and department stores, it remains to be confirmed in upcoming quarterly results how much of this rebound will reach smaller in-house brand operators like In the F.

The company appears to be continuing portfolio restructuring by streamlining stores for core brands such as Joinus and Trugen while operating distribution channels including BIND and Mossbany.

The stock's inter-Korean economic cooperation theme characteristic also persists, meaning policy shifts such as a potential resumption of Kaesong Industrial Complex operations could affect trading flows.

Key items to watch from Q3 2026 onward include whether seasonal peak-quarter revenue recovers and whether the alternating profit-and-loss pattern seen in prior quarters stabilizes.