NewOn, Binding MOU for Acquisition of 'Sallim Baekseo'

NewOn (formerly Hanil Vacuum) is pursuing a key M&A (mergers and acquisitions) to leap forward as a lifestyle platform company.

On the 29th, NewOn announced that it signed a binding memorandum of understanding (Binding MOU) to acquire the trademark rights of "Sallim Baekseo," a natural organic household goods and personal care brand with 1 million interested customers on Naver Store.

Sallim Baekseo represents a product line of over 200 items including natural organic household goods, shampoos, body washes, hand creams, and other personal care products. Starting with sales of 4.2 billion KRW at its launch in 2018, it grew to 38 billion KRW in sales and 3.5 billion KRW in operating profit last year. Since its inception, it has shown strong growth solely through online sales channels such as Naver Shopping and Coupang, without a single deficit.

A NewOn official explained, "By acquiring the trademark and business rights of Sallim Baekseo, we will launch a new lifestyle platform and continuously expand the categories. Sallim Baekseo’s prospective customer base exceeds 1 million, demonstrating strong product competitiveness and customer loyalty compared to other major household goods companies."

The number of interested customers on Naver Shopping and customers who set live broadcast alerts for Sallim Baekseo are 1.02 million and 840,000, respectively. As of the first quarter of this year, major domestic household goods companies such as LG Household & Health Care, Saenghwal Gongjakso, and Aekyung Industry have interested customer numbers of 1.1 million, 590,000, and 450,000, respectively. Their alert settings are around 700,000. For overseas companies like Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, and Downy, the interested customer numbers are 440,000, 320,000, and 260,000, respectively, with alert settings around 300,000.

Along with acquiring key brands for transformation into a lifestyle platform, NewOn plans to expand categories into health functional foods, cosmetics, household goods, and pet products. Holding the trademark rights for Ttuntun Baekseo, Pibu Baekseo, and Banryeo Baekseo, NewOn will sell products through Ttuntun Baekseo for B2C (business-to-consumer) business beyond B2B (business-to-business) operations, and through Pibu Baekseo and Banryeo Baekseo for cosmetics and pet products, respectively.

The laundry detergent, which has recorded 340,000 reviews on Naver Store, is Sallim Baekseo’s bestseller, boasting high customer loyalty and product competitiveness. After acquiring Sallim Baekseo, NewOn, led by CEO Lee Jong-jin, will diversify sales channels into Korea’s five major large offline stores. It will also pursue overseas market entry by securing global online and offline distribution channels in countries such as the United States and Japan for various brands within Sallim Baekseo.

NewOn is evolving from a developer of new materials specialized in body fat reduction health functional foods into a comprehensive lifestyle platform company selling health functional foods, cosmetics, household goods, personal care products, and pet products.