Korean outdoor apparel company Nepa on Monday announced a blueprint to become a global powerhouse generating 1.3 trillion won ($1.19 billion) in annual sales by 2020.

The company will invest a total of 290 billion won in research and development, aggressive marketing and renovation of store interior to stand out among legions of outdoor fashion brands crammed in the market, company CEO Park Chang-kun said.

“As we are stretching out overseas, developing an original-Nepa style that meets global standards and the needs of our customers has become very important,” Park said. 

The company is scheduled to open its European flagship store in Chamonix, France, in July and its stores in Beijing and Shanghai in 2016. The number of overseas outlets will reach 500 by 2020, generating 200 billion won in sales, the company said.

Park noted that the market environment has been tough ― after double-digit annual growth for the past five to six years, the outdoor fashion market has hit a plateau ― and Nepa’s operating profit dropped by 20 percent in 2014 compared to a year before.

“We are trying to overcome our weakness. The majority of our sales were generated during winter. but we are developing garments for all weathers and climates. We have also appointed former Armani Exchange designer Lee Eun-jeong to reinforce the fashionable side,” he said. Nepa has also signed actress Gianna Jun as brand ambassador to penetrate the Chinese market where she has a huge fan base.

“We will go beyond the outdoor brand image,” Park said.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)