Jinook Lee walked past some clothes that caught his eye at a roadside market. Not able to buy them right away, he tried looking for them later on the internet with little success. Despite most things being available online these days, he still found he had to buy a lot of the items he wanted by going to shops directly.
“Our generation is so used to the online world that we think every product is on the internet. But according to Statistics Korea, only 20% of products are available online,” says Lee.
His website Brich aims to boost this number by putting roadside fashion merchants online, including women’s and men’s clothing, as well as shoes, bags, and other accessories.
Lee says that he’s been deeply into online markets and social commerce for the last 10 years. Up until now, most online stores have competed with each other by offering heavy discounts on products. If something wasn’t competitive in price or not frequently updated, it was to hard find. This led Lee to see the potential in launching a platform for products available offline.
Like many other O2O (online-to-offline) services, Lee struggled at first with convincing merchants to put their products online. “I didn’t think there were many places that have streets branded like they are in Korea. At first, we didn’t focus on the wider market, but tried to talk to business owners in Garosut-gil and the central Apgujeong area.”
In order to earn their trust, Brich uploaded and even delivered products for them. Now, the website is home to over 1000 offline marketplaces including popular fashion shops in Apgujeong, Samcheong-dong and Hongdae. Brich’s userbase is nothing to scoff at either, with 1 million users visiting the site each month.
However, Brich isn’t just about bringing offline stores online. The startup also plans to grow into an ‘omni-channel’ platform by forming partnerships with the stores. “We would become one with our partners offline, and through Brich, they will be able to develop a new source of revenue. We plan to create an environment that supports good mutual relations.”
As Brich continues to grow its platform, shops are able to increase their customer base. The company is using this data to create customized services for consumers, and recently launched its own brand in collaboration with offline stores.
