Lacoste takes its first step into South Korea’s café market, extending its fashion and lifestyle identity into hospitality with its Seoul flagship launch.
French fashion and sportswear brand Lacoste is expanding its presence beyond apparel and accessories, bringing its Café Lacoste concept to South Korea with the opening of its first café in the country.
The café has opened inside Lacoste’s new flagship store, Clubhouse Seongsu, in Seoul’s Seongsu district. Launched on October 30, 2026, the more than 800 sq. m. flagship combines fashion, sportswear, art and food and beverage experiences, marking a further step in the brand’s efforts to build lifestyle-led retail destinations.
The Seoul opening introduces Asia’s first Café Lacoste, extending the brand’s presence into the hospitality sector. The café serves beverages and desserts, including the signature Polo Cake, inspired by the brand’s iconic polo shirt. It also offers exclusive merchandise and lifestyle products, bringing Lacoste’s visual identity into the dining experience.
The move follows Lacoste’s inauguration of its first permanent Café Lacoste in Paris in February 2026. Located on Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Paris café was developed in partnership with Giraudi Group, founded by entrepreneur Riccardo Giraudi. The concept combines French-inspired food and beverages with the brand’s sporting heritage and distinctive design language.
With its Seoul entry, Lacoste is taking the café concept into another international market, using food and hospitality to deepen consumer engagement beyond traditional fashion retail.
The Clubhouse Seongsu flagship has been designed to reflect the character of its neighbourhood, drawing inspiration from Seongsu’s industrial heritage and Lacoste’s tennis origins.
The store also showcases the brand’s men’s, women’s and sports collections, alongside a dedicated Polo Wall and customisation services for selected products.
Lacoste plans to use the Seoul destination as a cultural hub, hosting events and programmes around fashion, art and culture in collaboration with the local creative community.
Thierry Guibert, CEO of Lacoste, said the company’s continued development of flagship stores worldwide reflects its ambition to strengthen its international presence and offer more distinctive brand experiences. He added that the Seoul destination would bring the brand’s identity and creativity to life while embracing the city’s cultural influence.
Founded in 1933 by French tennis champion René Lacoste, the brand has grown from its tennis-inspired apparel roots into an international fashion business spanning clothing, footwear, leather goods and accessories.
Its expansion into cafés signals an additional dimension to its brand strategy, with hospitality emerging as a platform to translate its identity into experiences beyond fashion retail. However, Lacoste has not announced a franchise programme or international franchise targets for Café Lacoste.
