The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2025–2026
Look Holdings loses MAJE and SANDRO in Korea — 23% of group sales walk out the door
Look Holdings' Korean arm I.D. Look runs MAJE and SANDRO under an exclusive contract worth ¥12B — 23% of group sales. It expires on 28 February 2026, unrenewed.
Look Holdings · I.D. Look · SMCP · 2026-02-28
What happened
Look Holdings, a Tokyo-listed fashion company, sells the French labels MAJE and SANDRO in Korea through its subsidiary I.D. Look, under an exclusive sales contract with SMCP Holding SAS. The two brands became a pillar of the group: for the year ending December 2025 their combined sales were projected at roughly ¥12.0 billion — 23.1 percent of Look's ¥52.0 billion consolidated sales forecast.
On 1 August 2025 the board announced the contract would end at expiry on 28 February 2026. The disclosure gave no reason beyond the contract period running out, and said the effect on FY2026 results was still being assessed; earnings commentary pointed to Korean sales shrinking by some ¥8 billion year on year.
What Look rebuilds with is not yet named. Its president said negotiations over new brands for Korea were under way, with cost cuts and a reshaped portfolio. But at the moment of the announcement, a quarter of group sales sat on a clock that ran out in February 2026.
Why it happened
- The exclusive contract that the business stood on was SMCP's to end; when the term ran out, Look had no claim on what it had built.
- A 23-percent concentration in one contract turned a routine expiry into a group-level event.
- The disclosure says only 'contract period expired' — for a distributor, that single line is the entire risk.
The lesson
When a quarter of group sales rides on one licence, its expiry is an event: Look Holdings' exclusive right to sell MAJE and SANDRO in Korea — worth ¥12B — ends unrenewed in February 2026.
Aftermath
From 28 February 2026 I.D. Look stops selling MAJE and SANDRO. Look Holdings said it is negotiating new brands for the Korean market while cutting costs; the FY2026 impact was under assessment at the time of the announcement.
Sources
- Look Holdings official disclosure (TDNet) — "Notice of termination of exclusive sales contract with SMCP Holding SAS (France)", 1 August 2025 (board resolution 1 August 2025; exclusive sales contract between subsidiary I.D. Look (Korea) and SMCP Holding SAS ends at expiry on 28 February 2026; affected brands' FY2025 sales outlook about ¥12,000M, 23.1% of consolidated sales forecast of ¥52,000M; FY2026 impact under assessment; current-period impact already reflected in the FY2025 forecast released the same day)
- Sen-i News — "Main brand in Korea ends contract / Look hd", 5 August 2025 (announcement 1 August 2025; contract expiry end of February 2026; both brands' sales projected at ¥12 billion for the year ending December 2025)
- Logmi Finance — "Look Holdings (8029): revenue and profit down on struggles in the Korea business" (earnings commentary: sales of the two Korean entities expected to fall about ¥8 billion year on year following the contract termination)
- Sen-i News — "Look HD / shoring up the Korea business / cost cuts, new brands too" (CEO Shibuya: negotiations for new brands under way following the sales termination; cost reduction and portfolio measures for Korea)
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