Proven Competitiveness Through Luxury Repairs, Next Is Secondhand Trading

Startup LRHR
Choose Vendors on Platform 'Paepiseu' for Seamless Product Pickup and Payment
Grand Prize at This Year's Jeong Ju-Young Startup Competition

Kim Geun-young CPO (second from the right) and LRHR employees are taking a group photo.

Those who have wandered the streets of Myeongdong with ‘My Precious Luxury Item’ know this well. Luxury repairs require as many choices and decisions as purchasing the item itself. Each repair shop differs in terms of feasibility, price, and turnaround time, and it is difficult to know these details without physically visiting multiple places. While entrusting repairs to cheaper shops raises concerns about poor quality, going to places that charge exorbitant prices feels like paying more for the service than the item itself. Even finding reviews to evaluate repair results is challenging due to limited information.

LRHR is a startup founded to change this opaque luxury repair market. Their platform, ‘Pappis,’ encompasses the entire process of luxury repairs. Users upload photos, receive estimates from various shops, and choose their preferred provider based on reviews. Product pickup and payment are completed in one go. Since launching the service last year, the platform received the grand prize at this year’s Jeong Ju-young Startup Competition, reaffirming its business potential. LRHR now plans to expand its business beyond luxury repairs into the secondhand luxury market. We spoke in detail with Kim Geun-young, Chief Product Officer (CPO) and co-founder.

Kim CPO said, "Pappis is a platform connecting luxury repair artisans and consumers," adding, "We plan to accumulate repair data and expand the business into secondhand transactions." Kim CPO and CEO Kim Jeong-min, alumni of Minjok Leadership Academy High School, co-founded LRHR. Their goal was to start a business, and rather than entering an unfamiliar field, they chose to work with clothing and luxury items they liked. Their first business idea was ‘wardrobe sharing’ for luxury items, but they realized that repairs would be necessary if clothes were shared and damaged. This led them to explore the luxury repair market. The two friends judged that platformizing this opaque market would have better business potential. In March last year, they changed their business model and officially launched the luxury repair platform ‘Pappis’ in November of the same year.

Pappis connects consumers who want luxury repairs with repair shops. Registered shops provide estimates after viewing photos. Initially, many repair artisans were resistant, but the team persistently persuaded them. Once shops joined, word spread quickly in the close-knit repair industry. Inquiries for registration began pouring in, and now there is even a waiting list to join. Kim CPO explained, "We do not indiscriminately accept registrations; we proceed based on the number of customers."

Currently, about 40 repair shops are registered on Pappis, with the primary criterion being shops that do not subcontract repairs. They undergo a verification process by requesting repair records to confirm that they perform genuine repair work. It is also stipulated that if a customer complaint arises, one free rework will be provided. Kim CPO cites Pappis’s competitive edge as its transparently disclosed information. He said, "We disclose repair shops, repair histories, and consumer reviews of repair results," adding, "We also support easy communication between customers and repair artisans through chat."

There were concerns that receiving estimates and price comparisons on the platform might lead to a race to the bottom, lowering repair quality. However, after operating the platform, it was found that consumers did not only seek the cheapest shops. Kim CPO said, "Because luxury items are important to each individual, payments were mostly made at reasonable mid-range prices, especially when repair shops left detailed and courteous comments."

Since its launch until recently, 40,000 luxury repairs have been conducted through Pappis. The monthly active users (MAU) number 30,000. The brands with the most repair requests are Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel. Bags are the most common items, followed by shoes. The domestic secondhand luxury market is estimated to be worth 4 trillion KRW, but the size of the secondhand repair market is difficult to gauge. LRHR currently estimates that luxury repairs conducted through Pappis still account for less than 10% of the total market, indicating ample room for growth.

This year, the 11th Jeong Ju-young Startup Competition also recognized LRHR’s growth potential. At the demo day concluding the eight-month competition that started in March, LRHR was selected as the grand prize winner, ranking first among 12 teams that advanced to the business execution stage out of 73 applicants. The evaluation noted, "During the business execution period, the company closely monitored customer responses, refined the service, attracted investment, and achieved significant growth."

Building on the data and competitiveness accumulated through repairs, LRHR is preparing to enter the secondhand luxury trading market. Kim CPO said, "There is high demand for repairing luxury items to increase their value before selling," adding, "We will provide information on secondhand luxury repair prices, resale prices after repair, and the benefits consumers can gain from this."

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