K-Pop fandom platforms are penning business success stories piggybacking Korean pop stars’ popularity. K-Town 4U is a startup that operates an online shopping mall that sells everything K-Pop.
K-Town 4U recently attracted an investment of 50 billion won ($40 million) and is now planning to expand service to another popular Korean cultural export – K-Dramas. LB Investment, KB Securities, and SJ Investment Partners participated in this funding round.
Investors bet on future ‘unicorn’
K-Town 4U sells various products such as K-pop-related albums, cosmetics, souvenirs, and clothing, which are popular worldwide, at home and abroad. It currently has 4.2 million members and is connected to 5,200 K-pop fan clubs worldwide, allowing up to 200 million fans to use it. The company generated 200 billion won ($162 million) in sales last year and was awarded the Iron Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit and the ’20 Million Dollar Export Tower’. Min-seok Cha, vice president of SJ Investment Partners, said, “It is expected to be a next-generation unicorn (corporate value of KRW 1 trillion) as it grows based on a strong fandom.”
CEO Choi emphasized, “We will take off as a world-class platform by strengthening the competitiveness of our three core businesses: e-commerce, content, and community.” based on this investment, the company plans to expand to products related to K-Dramas, which are popular in Internet video service (OTT) such as Netflix and Watcha. It also plans to build a large-scale international logistics center to enhance its competitiveness.
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