South Korean online fashion store operator W Concept Korea Co.’s worth has nearly quadrupled after it went under IMM Private Equity three years ago, with business thriving more than ever on growing online shopping demand under virus threat.

W Concept Korea’s gross merchandise value is projected to reach 250 billion won ($213.6 million) this year, which would help push up its value to 400 billion won, said market analysts.

It marks a huge leap from 2017 when IMM Private Equity, a Seoul-based private equity fund investor, acquired W Concept Korea for 100 billion won. Since then, the online fashion retailer has shown robust growth with gross merchandise value, or the total value of merchandise sold at online stores, jumping 40 percent every year.

Its performance partly credits to IMM PE that has invested aggressively to advance IT system and online platform. The private equity fund also recruited e-commerce experts and expanded the marketing team to revamp the organization.

W Concept Korea has been able to expand its customer base to middle-aged women and men beyond its primary consumer target of young women in their 20s and 30s.

The online fashion mall has about 6,200 brands as of June this year, which is 2.5 times more than what it had at the end of 2016. The number of customers with membership with the shopping mall hovers around 1.13 million now, more than doubled from 2017.

For full 2020, its transaction amount is estimated to reach 245 billion won, nearly tripled compared to three years ago. The growth was partly driven by the pandemic, and its future looks bright with more people opt to shop online after the outbreak of COVID-19.

By Kang Doo-soon and Cho Jeehyun

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