FILA is seeking to reinstate itself as a more stylish and trendier sportswear brand focused on high-performance apparel, as it undertakes a major overhaul of its former product lineup and takes on a new brand identity.

Led by its new executive vice president and creative director Jung Ku-ho, FILA Korea has directed its central focus on performance wear, while lowering its target customer base to those in their 20s and 30s.
 

“FILA had been slightly behind in following fast-changing trends in recent years, as our products began to turn old and cliche, which were reflected by falling sales,” said FILA Korea president Kim Jin-myun during a media preview of FILA’s redesigned products on Thursday in Seoul.

“Therefore, we decided it was time to undertake a major change in our product design to reemerge as a younger, more active global sportswear brand rooted in heritage,” Kim said.

While maintaining its decades-long heritage, FILA is looking to reestablish itself as a younger and trendier sportswear maker able to capture both functionality and style, putting forward its performance wear, the brand’s best-selling product segment.

Through its rebranding measures, the company has pledged to drive up its domestic sales to more than 800 billion won ($700 million) by 2020. Last year, FILA’s domestic sales took up around 400 billion won out of some 793.5 billion won in total sales posted in 2014.

Starting next year, FILA will feature three sub-categories of performance wear: “Track Performance,” geared for casual track sports; “Fitness Performance,” a more fashionable apparel line for indoor sports; and “Hybrid Performance” for professional athletes.

The brand will also introduce “FILA Originale” -- an upgraded rendition of its lifestyle collection “FILA Heritage” -- inspired by contemporary fashion from the 90s, including FILA basketball shoes, oversized T-shirts and baggy pants.

FILA’s sister brands including FILA Golf, FILA Kids and FILA Underwear, formerly Intimito FILA, have been reformed and redesigned to embody the concept of “stylish performance.” A number of limited-edition products will be introduced under FILA Limitato as well.

The brand has boldly discarded products deemed unfit for its brand identity, including a number of casual sweaters, pants, accessories and bags, as well as its outdoor apparel collection, which had been seeing sluggish sales.

In line with FILA’s new direction, its logo has taken on a more modern and simplified look as well -- a navy-colored “F” box with a slimmer font. The firm will keep its original white-navy-red linear and box logos for select purposes.

FILA’s large-scale design reshuffle was envisioned and executed by Jung -- a former designer at Samsung C&T’s fashion unit behind the success of women’s fashion brand KUHO, as well as the executive director of this year’s Seoul Fashion Week.

FILA’s major product shakeup reportedly took place within just three to four months of Jung joining the company as executive vice president in May.

“It was my first time working with a brand rooted in a firm heritage, which from a design perspective, made it easier to imbue the brand with a contemporary touch and transform it into a more appealing brand,” Jung said.

Meanwhile, FILA Korea is eyeing Nike and Adidas as its main rivals, as well as Descente and New Balance as strong competitors, according to Kim, who expressed hopes of further nurturing the brand into an industry leader both at home and abroad.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)