[News Figures] "Playground for Young People" Abley CEO Kang Seok-hoon

Abley is the number one vertical platform (a service platform targeting customer groups with specific interests) most used by Koreans from their teens to their 40s. The monthly active users number about 8 million. The cumulative application downloads have surpassed 40 million, and the membership count has exceeded 11 million. In just six years since its launch, the company's valuation has reached 3 trillion KRW. Abley Corporation recently signed an investment contract worth 100 billion KRW with Alibaba Group.

At the center of Abley’s rapid growth is Kang Seok-hoon, CEO of Abley Corporation. Born in 1984, Kang studied Business Administration at Yonsei University. He co-founded the online video streaming service (OTT) Watcha and served as the business director, growing the company for five years. Kang searched for new business ideas by visiting Dongdaemun. He established the women’s clothing shopping mall Apparel J and operated the Dongdaemun-based clothing shopping mall 'BanHalla.' BanHalla ranked among the top 50 in sales within two years of its founding. Seeing mobile apps as the future distribution hub, he launched Abley in 2018. Kang applied Watcha’s curation system, which recommends based on individual preferences, to Abley. The star is the 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) personalized recommendation technology.' Developed by experts who have researched 'personalization' for 15 years, the 'AI recommendation algorithm' analyzes user preferences based on big data to display products.

At the core of the recommendation technology is the industry's largest 'preference data.' Abley enhances its recommendation technology through customer preference data such as 1.5 billion product likes, 70 million reviews, and purchase histories. Through precise preference recommendations, it provides customers with convenient shopping and differentiated services. Abley’s slogan is 'Your style fits perfectly,' 'Just right for your body shape,' and 'Only the colors you want.' It recommends products tailored to customers’ body shapes and tastes. It also helps marketplaces secure new fandoms and sales.

The clear division of roles between sellers and the platform is also a growth factor. Marketing is handled by individual sellers who have influence online. Abley takes charge of payment and logistics. CEO Kang worked hard to create a system where sellers can focus on directly communicating with customers and selecting products. Particular attention was paid to the logistics system. Last year, Abley recorded sales of 259.5 billion KRW and an operating profit of 3.3 billion KRW. In the women’s fashion sector, centered on the 20s and 30s age group, it is considered ahead of Musinsa. More than 70,000 sellers are registered on Abley. In the first half of this year, transaction volume surpassed 1 trillion KRW for the first time in history.

Kang’s next goal is successful overseas expansion. Last year, Abley launched the women’s fashion platform 'Amudeu' in Japan. From July to August this year, Amudeu’s transaction volume increased 17.5 times and the number of buyers grew 20 times compared to the same period last year. There are also plans to enter the North American market.

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