Korea's idus Tops $740M GMV for Handmade Market.

Seoul, South Korea - idus, the Seoul-based online marketplace operated by Backpacker, has surpassed KRW 1 trillion (US$739.2 million) in cumulative gross merchandise value (GMV). 

This marks a significant milestone in the company's financial performance and sets the stage for further expansion.

The Key Points

• Idus achieved GMV milestones of KRW 100 billion (US$73.9 million) in 2018, KRW 500 billion (US$369.6 million) in 2021, and KRW 850 billion (US$628.3 million) in 2022. It surpassed 1 trillion won this year, just ten months after the previous milestone. The company will become profitable in the second half of 2022.
• The marketplace currently features over 550,000 works from over 40,000 artists in categories such as handicrafts, fashion, beauty, home goods, and food. The number of artists grew by approximately 20% this year, while the number of artworks grew by 200,000.
• Idus has 16.5 million app downloads, 5 million monthly active users, and an 80% repurchase rate. It has become the largest handmade platform in Korea. Women in their 20s and 30s comprise more than half of the users.
• Top-selling categories this year were desserts, bakery and beverages at 22%, stationery and drawing at 20%, and packaged food, liquor, and seafood at 20%, along with home goods and fashion.

What They Say: 

Kim Dong-hwan, CEO of Backpacker, said the company aims to support artists and connect them with customers. The longer-term strategy is to tap into larger markets worth KRW 10 trillion (US$7.4 billion) and KRW 100 trillion (US$73.9 billion), respectively.

What comes next? 

The longer-term strategy is to develop larger markets worth KRW 10 trillion (US$7.4 billion) and KRW 100 trillion (US$73.9 billion), respectively. 

This follows idus' shift to profitability and its existing vital metrics, such as 5 million monthly active users (MAUs) and an 80% repurchase rate.

The company launched global services in April and merged with Tumblbug in July.