Sneaker Resale Platform Ripple Launches Membership Service for NFT Trading

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] REPLE, a limited-edition sneaker resale platform operated by KT Alpha, will open the ‘+ α (Plus Alpha)’ membership service on the 3rd of next month, allowing users to trade fractional ownership of NFT (Non-Fungible Token)-based limited-edition sneakers.

According to KT Alpha on the 22nd, the Plus Alpha service is a type of membership system where members gain the right to trade by holding fractional ownership of limited-edition sneakers. Customers who purchase the membership product automatically qualify and receive fractional ownership in the form of a unique NFT certificate.

REPLE actively collaborated with KT’s NFT service ‘Minkle’ to issue NFT fractional ownership. Minkle, which launched its beta service on the 4th of this month, has issued key images as NFTs using webtoons from KT Group’s Storywiz and conducted customer events providing free NFTs through partnerships with BC Card and K Bank.

REPLE’s first membership products are from the Nike Jordan 1 series: ‘Jordan 1 Dior High OG,’ ‘Jordan 1 Off-White Retro High Chicago The Ten,’ and ‘Jordan 1 Trophy Room Retro High OG SP Chicago.’ To commemorate the opening of the membership service, REPLE plans to sell fractional shares with up to a 20% discount off the standard market price. For example, the ‘Jordan 1 Dior High OG,’ currently valued at approximately 12 million KRW, will be discounted by 20% to about 10 million KRW and then divided into fractions for sale.

Various benefits will be provided to membership holders. Twice a month, a lucky draw event will be held to give away limited-edition sneakers to members, and mobile gift certificates worth between 10,000 and 30,000 KRW will be given based on the purchase amount of fractional ownership. Additionally, members will receive a 30,000 KRW recharge credit that can be used like cash when purchasing physical sneakers.

Furthermore, as a pre-opening event for the membership launch, a lucky draw will be held to give away a ‘Jordan 1 Low Golf Chicago’ product worth approximately 500,000 KRW. The pre-event participation period runs until the 2nd of next month, and users can participate through the event page within the REPLE application (app).

Meanwhile, REPLE plans to temporarily operate a showroom at the KT Plaza Seongdae Media branch where visitors can directly view limited-edition sneakers. About 30 popular sneaker models, including those available for fractional ownership sales, will be exhibited. Various events such as lucky draws and mobile gift certificate giveaways will be held for showroom visitors. The showroom operated by REPLE is scheduled to open in May.

Starting from the 3rd of next month, REPLE will sell fractional ownership of limited-edition sneakers within the app, and plans to officially launch a service in July this year that allows customers to freely trade fractional ownership among themselves.

Lee Sang-man, Head of the New Business Division at KT Alpha, said, “Recently, fractional trading, which involves dividing shares of artworks, copyrights, and other assets, has been actively conducted mainly among the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z). We will operate a healthy trading environment and services to enable stable investment through limited-edition sneakers.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.