[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As more people are purchasing luxury goods online recently, the valuation of luxury online platforms is rising. Investments poured into Mustit, Trenbe, and Ballan have nearly reached 100 billion KRW. Especially with Kakao and Naver competitively investing, the online luxury market is heating up.
According to the industry on the 7th, Mustit secured an investment of 13 billion KRW from Kakao Investment and K2 Investment Partners. This is about nine months after raising 15 billion KRW in July last year. The cumulative investment has reached 28 billion KRW. Trenbe also attracted a total of 22 billion KRW in investments last March from IMM Investment, Murex Partners, Korea Investment Partners, and Atinum Investment. Trenbe achieved a cumulative investment amount of 40 billion KRW in three years. Ballan received a 10 billion KRW investment in 2019 and secured a strategic investment from Naver last year.
Mustit operates as an open market with about 7,700 sellers offering 1 million products from 1,300 luxury brands. Prices are on average 20-25% cheaper compared to department stores. It features a 200% compensation guarantee in case of counterfeit purchases. Trenbe sources products from official websites or offline stores of global brands. It holds over 1.5 million products from more than 5,000 brands, directly managing and mediating sales. Using its self-developed AI solution ‘Trenbot,’ it also provides services such as lowest price comparison. Ballan handles 1 million products from 6,000 brands through official contracts with luxury boutiques in Europe.
The online luxury market is growing rapidly. Mustit’s transaction volume last year was about 250 billion KRW, a 66% increase from the previous year. Trenbe’s transaction volume last year was 108 billion KRW, up 139% from the previous year. Ballan’s sales last year were about 50 billion KRW, increasing 150% compared to one year earlier.
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