[People人] Kim Seul-ah, CEO of Curly, Challenges US Stock Market After 6 Years of 'Saetbyeol Delivery'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Market Kurly is challenging a listing on the U.S. stock market as it grows into a company with sales reaching 1 trillion won, six years after launching its 'Saetbyeol Delivery' service. Behind this rapid growth lies CEO Kim Seul-ah's philosophy. Connecting her personal wish to "receive high-quality products fresh and quickly at home" into a business, Kim successfully realized this vision and emphasizes that "the basics must always be upheld," even amid the recent intensifying competition in online shopping.

◆'Young Global Leader'

CEO Kim has recently been managing an extremely busy schedule. She has personally participated in foreign media interviews announcing plans for the U.S. stock market listing, a press conference commemorating the opening of the Gimpo logistics center, and recruitment briefings to expand the developer team. Recently, she even appeared in a campaign (advertisement) starring actor Park Seo-joon, humorously portraying a character wracking her brain to fit the ad concept that "everyone except (CEO Kim) likes the groundbreaking first purchase benefits."

Born in 1983, CEO Kim graduated from Wellesley College in the U.S. with a degree in political science. She has a background in financial investment and consulting, having worked at Goldman Sachs Hong Kong, McKinsey & Company Hong Kong, Temasek Holdings in Singapore, and Bain & Company Korea. Her personal passion for food, to the extent of personally seeking out good food, played a significant role in founding Kurly (formerly The Farmers) in 2015. The desire to reduce the fatigue from doubting and comparing quality products while receiving trusted, carefully selected items fresh and conveniently delivered to the doorstep led to the birth of the dawn delivery service, 'Saetbyeol Delivery.' Saetbyeol Delivery has grown rapidly every year, doubling Market Kurly's sales annually until last year. Sales soared more than 300 times in five years, from 2.9 billion won in 2015 to 952.3 billion won last year. The number of service subscribers grew from about 50,000 in 2015 to over 7 million last year.

Market Kurly was recently ranked 18th among the '2021 Asia-Pacific High-Growth Companies' selected by the Financial Times (FT) and Nikkei Asia. CEO Kim was also selected as one of the '2021 Next Generation Leaders (112 people)' by the World Economic Forum (WEF) last month, following her receipt of the Pony Chung Young Leader Award from the Pony Chung Foundation last year.

◆Lowest Prices and Delivery Expansion: 'This Year’s Turning Point'

This year marks another turning point as Market Kurly prepares for a new leap. Although the e-commerce market is undergoing seismic shifts and survival competition is fiercer than ever, the food market’s online penetration rate is around 20%, indicating vast growth potential compared to other markets. To secure market leadership, CEO Kim has emphasized 'high quality at the lowest price.' They have implemented an EDLP (Every Day Low Price) policy, offering over 60 food items?including vegetables, fruits, seafood, meat, dairy products, rice, and seaweed?at the lowest prices on the online mall, launching a dedicated 'Kurly Basket Must-Have' section.

Market Kurly is also expanding volume. The Gimpo logistics center, the largest fresh logistics center in Korea opened in February, serves as a foundation to extend Saetbyeol Delivery beyond the metropolitan area to non-metropolitan regions. At the Gimpo logistics center opening press conference, CEO Kim stated, "We have doubled the average daily order volume from 220,000 boxes to 440,000 boxes," adding, "We will expand delivery areas to regions outside the metropolitan area with large populations while being adjacent to the metropolitan area."

To support service expansion, Market Kurly plans to hire more than 100 developers this year across all engineering fields, including e-commerce and logistics services?surpassing the current developer team of about 90. To this end, CEO Kim has actively participated in discovering talented developers by hosting the 'Startup Coding Festival 2021' alongside Brandi, Socar, Watcha, Today’s House, and Bunjang.

The most notable move this year is the U.S. stock market listing. Kurly has selected Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan as lead underwriters and is proceeding with full-scale preparations for the IPO. Industry insiders expect the funds raised through the IPO to be invested in personnel such as developers and in further expanding services to major regional areas outside the capital.

CEO Kim emphasized, "In rapidly growing markets with great value creation for customers, like the domestic online food market, pursuing profitability alone can lead to putting the cart before the horse. We will continue to grow volume by providing more services to customers."