The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2006–2025
Jinny Kim's red-carpet heels lost to trainers and online platforms — bankruptcy
A first-generation Korean designer shoe brand that dressed Hollywood stars closed after the trainer trend and fashion platforms ate its sales.
Jinny Kim (지니킴) · 2025-12-23
What happened
Jinny Kim (지니킴) was a first-generation Korean designer shoe brand, founded in 2006. Its glamorous, red-carpet-inspired high heels made it a favourite of Hollywood stars such as Miranda Kerr and Paris Hilton and of domestic celebrities, and it took part in New York Fashion Week.
From the mid-2010s the high-heel trend faded, and online fashion platforms brought a rush of designer and mid-to-low-price competitors into the same space. The brand pushed products under 100,000 won to keep up, but the fast-moving market proved hard to respond to.
Revenue that topped 10 billion won in 2019 shrank to 2.6 billion won by 2023, with a 490 million won operating loss and an 890 million won net loss. By the end of 2023 capital had been fully eroded, at −16.3 billion won. Jinny Kim received a bankruptcy declaration at the Seoul Rehabilitation Court in April 2025 and registered its closure with the National Tax Service on December 23, 2025.
Why it happened
- The model was tied to a single fashion moment — high heels — and had no answer when trainers and flats took over.
- Online fashion platforms flooded the same channel with designer and cheap labels, squeezing a premium brand that could not undercut them.
- Moving downmarket into cheap under-100,000-won lines did not stop the slide, and losses eroded capital until it went negative.
The lesson
A brand built on one fashion moment needs a read on where the trend is going, and a premium name cannot hold its price line by chasing the budget end of the same market it is losing.
Aftermath
The court is liquidating Jinny Kim's assets to cover estate claims and distribute dividends to bankruptcy creditors. Its official website no longer serves product pages, its customer line is down, and its social media has had no new posts since January 2025.
Sources
- Herald Economy — platform competition closes first-generation designer shoe brand Jinny Kim (Jan 2026)
- Daum News — Jinny Kim bankruptcy and closure reported (Jan 2026)
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