[IPO] KkumBee Listed on KOSDAQ... "Leap to a Global Infant Products Brand"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Premium infant furniture specialist company KkumBee is knocking on the door of KOSDAQ. KkumBee plans to establish a smart factory with the proceeds from the public offering to improve efficiency such as cost reduction.

On the 26th, Park Younggeon, CEO of KkumBee, held a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul, ahead of the KOSDAQ listing to introduce the company and announce its growth strategy.

Founded in 2014, KkumBee manufactures and sells infant playroom mats, bedding, and wooden furniture. Starting with the ‘Transforming Bumper Bed’ in 2016, it launched the ‘Clean Roll Mat’ in 2018, a noise-reducing mat with enhanced impact resistance and antibacterial properties. Since then, it has introduced modular assembly wooden furniture ‘All-Star’ that can be transformed according to the child’s growth, and the ‘Double One-Piece Mat’ with minimized sewing lines.

On the 26th, Park Young-geon, CEO of Kkumbee, held a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul, ahead of the company's KOSDAQ listing to introduce the company. / Photo by Kkumbee

KkumBee has secured a solid market position in the infant furniture sector through product designs that maximize usability and consistent in-house customer management. As of now, KkumBee holds 388 patents and design rights, has accumulated 700,000 customers, and has achieved first place in the Consumer Satisfaction Index for eight consecutive years since 2014.

KkumBee has also launched infant skincare and living care brands to build a comprehensive infant product brand. The infant skincare brand ‘Organic Ground,’ launched in 2019, has obtained six global safety certifications and has achieved over 100% annual sales growth. The family detergent brand ‘Babadito,’ launched in 2021, contains over 97% organic surfactants and naturally derived ingredients, surpassing 10,000 units sold to date. Additionally, the company expanded its brand portfolio by launching ‘Pamiya,’ a pet product brand applying the same safety standards as infant products.

The infant product market size reached 4 trillion KRW in 2020 and continues to grow steadily. This represents a 233% increase compared to 2009. Although the number of births in Korea is declining, the ‘Golden Kids’ phenomenon has emerged, where per capita childcare spending increases due to rising household income levels.

Amid this market environment, KkumBee’s sales have steadily increased. In 2021, KkumBee recorded consolidated sales of 20.9 billion KRW and operating profit of 2.3 billion KRW, growing 12.9% and 11.4% respectively compared to the previous year. Sales and operating profit through the third quarter of last year were 20.7 billion KRW and 1.5 billion KRW, respectively.

CEO Park Younggeon stated, “Since last year, we have increased investment in new product development and plan to launch two to three times more new products this year compared to last year, so we expect this growth trend to continue.”

After listing, KkumBee plans to focus on enhancing production stability and efficiency by establishing a smart factory. Through automation systems, it aims to reduce development time and costs and implement mass production of diverse products. The strategy includes virtual simulation operation before manufacturing and real-time automated ordering to shorten development periods and inventory costs.

The company will also accelerate expansion into new business areas and diversification of distribution channels. First, KkumBee signed a domestic exclusive distribution contract in 2021 with G7 Zhongwen Legend Group, a global coffee brand exporting to over 80 countries. Since last year, it has also become the domestic exclusive distributor for Geuther, Germany’s leading infant furniture company with a 140-year tradition. KkumBee plans to create sales synergy through product linkage.

CEO Park Younggeon said, “Our company has achieved remarkable sales growth through excellent product development capabilities and marketing optimized for infants and children. Through the KOSDAQ listing, we plan to grow into Korea’s representative comprehensive infant product brand and further globalize ‘K-Infant Products.’”

Meanwhile, the total number of shares offered by KkumBee is 2 million. Demand forecasting for institutional investors will be conducted over two days from the 26th to 27th to finalize the public offering price, followed by general subscription from the 31st to February 1st, with listing scheduled for next month. The lead underwriter is Kiwoom Securities.