South Korea’s fresh food early morning delivery pioneer Market Kurly is estimated to have raked more than 1 trillion won ($910 million) in sales last year, a milestone achieved in just five years in business.

Retail industry sources said on Thursday that Market Kurly’s revenue for 2020 is expected to surpass 1 trillion won, more than doubling from 428.9 billion won in sales in the previous year.

One of the drivers of the rapid growth is its ‘curating’ service in which the company CEO Sophie Kim and other staff cherry-pick high quality products to offer on the platform. They test more than 300 new products weekly based on a multiple criteria that can affect consumers’ buying decision including taste, package and price. That’s how the company has gained reputation for providing quality-guaranteed food.

Market Kurly has been expanding its non-food items since it first sold toasters in 2016 to make shopping easier for customers who buy bread. To respond to the customers’ requests, it now offers kitchen utensils, appliances, household items and cosmetics after conducting the same quality test it does to food items. The non-food items account for more than 20 percent this month.

With the rising proportion of non-food items, some industry experts suggested the possibility that it could enter an open market platform to expand the size of the business. But the company said its focus is not on increasing external size but on securing loyal customers by offering high quality premium products. Actually, the repurchase rate of its customers stands at 60%, about three times higher than other online retailers.

Market Kurly plans to open a new distribution center next month in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, which is 1.3 times bigger than its existing 132,000-square-meter distribution center. The order processing capacity is expected to double once the new center opens.

The company said it doesn’t have any plan for M&A or initial public offering this year.

By Park Dae-ui and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]