BTS Sets the Blueprint Could TXT Follow HYBE's $75 Million Merch Success?

Concert merchandise has always remained a stable and essential part of the K-POP experience. Fans usually line up outside venues to purchase everything from light sticks and clothing, to photocards and even limited-edition collectibles. However as international tours grow, merchandise starts to become more than just an additional source of income. Instead, it begins to develop into a secondary business beyond the concert venue itself.

For HYBE, BTS' ongoing 'ARIRANG World Tour' has provided one of the clearest examples of this shift as during its Q3 earnings call on Nov. 3, the company revealed that the merchandise sales from the group's North American tour generated approximately $75 million. This was achieved throughout July and September when the tour took place, demonstrating financial potential of a retail strategy which is designed towards the encouragement of purchases throughout an entire tour.

The shared figure raises questions on whether the company's approach, which was developed around BTS, could possibly become a model for future tours by other HYBE artists. Especially taking into a note the fact that fellow labelmate, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, begins their own world tour later this month.

The BTS ARIRANG NorthAmerican tour spanned 12 cities and 45 total sales days, with approximately two million items sold to an audience of around one million fans.

Here, rather than relying exclusively on conventional merchandise booths outside the concert venues, the company expanded purchasing options through Weverse pre-orders,on-site pickup and RFID-enabled payment systems designed to make transactions more convenient.

This extended sale period became particularly significant as by operating merchandise sales across more days than the concerts themselves, HYBE created additional opportunities for fans to purchase the official products without limiting transactions to the hours immediately before or after a performance.

The company also introduced regionally tailored merchandise throughout the tour. During the Nov. 3 earnings call, HYBE CEO Lee Jae-sang explained that the company had continuously supplied between 100 and 150 new products reflecting the preferences of fans in different markets.

This approach addressed a challenge associated with traditional concert merchandise: purchasing activity often peaks at the beginning of a tour before gradually declining as performances continue.

By introducing new products and adapting its offerings to different locations, HYBE sought to maintain consumer interest and encourage repeat purchases throughout BTS's North American dates. The company attributed the results not only to the group's substantial audience but also to its expanded capabilities in merchandise planning, production and supply-chain management.

The impact of this strategy is reflected in HYBE's broader financial performance. According to the company's third-quarter results, merchandise and licensing revenue reached approximately $234 million between July and September, marking a quarterly record.

BTS's North American tour merchandise revenue of approximately $74.8 million was equivalent to around 32% of that total, although the two figures cover different business scopes. The growth becomes even clearer when examining HYBE's financial disclosures over a longer period.

In its August semi-annual report, HYBE recorded approximately $313.3 million in merchandise and licensing revenue during the first six months of 2026. Combined with its third-quarter results, the revenue reached approximately $547.3 million during the first nine months of the year. Moreover, concert revenue also surged to approximately $1.09 billion in the first nine months of 2026, nearly doubling the $570 million generated throughout 2025.

Although these figures reflect HYBE's wider artist portfolio, they highlight the growing importance of merchandise and licensing to its business. Together, the figures underscore how live performances and merchandise sales are becoming increasingly important revenue drivers for HYBE.

The company's merchandise growth is supported by a system that connects product development, sales and online shopping. The company's IPX division manages official merchandise, licensing and pop-up stores, while Weverse allows fans to purchase products beyond concert venues.

With the BTS's 'ARIRANG' tour showing how this strategy works on a global scale. HYBE can focus on offering online pre-orders, on-site pickup and merchandise tailored to different regions and thus reaching fans before, during and beyond concert dates.

This existing system could allow HYBE to apply similar merchandise strategies to other artists and future world tours.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER is preparing to begin its fifth world tour, 'STEAL THE WIND,' with three concerts at Seoul's KSPO Dome from Nov. 13 to 15. The tour then will subsequently extend across Asia, North America and Europe through 2027.

Both TXT and BTS operate under BIGHIT MUSIC, providing a direct connection between the two groups within HYBE's wider business structure.

On Nov. 4, TXT's official website announced advance sales for the STEAL THE WIND tour merchandise collection through Weverse Shop, with orders scheduled to open on Nov. 5 thus demonstrating the plan which is already underway ahead of the opening concerts.

However despite this, HYBE has not announced that TXT will adopt the same region-specific product strategy, extended merchandise sales periods or North American retail operations used during BTS's ARIRANG tour.

While BTS' results provide an example of what HYBE's merchandise infrastructure can achieve at scale, the commercial performance of other artists will depend on factors including audience size, purchasing demand, venue arrangements and regional distribution capabilities.

Nevertheless, TXT's upcoming international schedule provides an opportunity to examine whether the company will increasingly apply elements of its BTS merchandise strategy across its wider artist roster.

HYBE's recent results suggest that the future of K-POP touring may increasingly depend on what happens beyond the stage.

Concerts remain central to the business, but merchandise sales, localized products and digital purchasing platforms can create additional opportunities to generate revenue from the same touring activity.

BTS' ARIRANG tour has demonstrated the potential scale of this approach and more importantly, HYBE has indicated that the infrastructure developed through BTS will support future projects, suggesting that the company sees its merchandise strategy as something with applications beyond one artist or tour.

With TXT preparing to begin another international tour, the question is no longer simply how much merchandise HYBE can sell at a concert.

It is whether the company can turn the retail infrastructure demonstrated through BTS into a repeatable business model across its expanding global touring operations.