APR Corp. generates $199 mn in revenue with advanced tech, branding

APR Corp. is a South Korean startup less than a decade old, which develops and manufactures skin care products and athleisure clothing. 

While the group’s name may not be familiar to many, some of its brands are household names throughout Asia. They include skincare product maker AprilSkin, at-home beauty device manufacturer Medicube, and athleisure design label Nerdy.

In an interview with The Korea Economic Daily, its co-founder and CEO Kim Byoung-hoon said, “Just being made in Korea does not hold a competitive edge in China’s beauty routine or cosmetics market anymore.” 

Kim elaborated that is why it is shifting its focus to creating at-home beauty devices that allow for science-based skin treatments, eliminating the need for a visit to a dermatologist or an aesthetician. 

Medicube’s revenue exceeded 100 billion won ($76.8 million) after five years in the market. 

While the brand started out as a skin care product maker, Medicube decided to create a novel market for premium skin treatment at home with the launch of the Age-R device in March 2021.

The company sold around 200,000 units of Age-R so far, which costs around $150 apiece.

When the company launched AprilSkin in October 2015, it gained some popularity due to its focus on hypoallergenic characteristics in China but the brand soon suffered from the decreasing demand for Korean-made skincare products there when the local makers began to push out similar products cheaper.

Kim described the Chinese skincare technology in producing toner and lotion to have already leveled upward by that time.

The now 33-year-old studied business management at Yonsei University but he took a break from school after learning about the popularity of Korean skincare and cosmetics products in China. 

“The mission at APR is to advance people’s real lives and the acronym shows how dedicated we are in providing products and services that help our consumers,” he explained. 

Athleisure brand Nerdy is one of the three major brands within APR, along with Medicube and AprilSkin. 

Launched in April 2017, Nerdy is the second most popular homegrown clothing brand in South Korean duty-free shops, only after MLB, thanks to its rising popularity in Asia. 

The company launched the Nerdy flagship store in Harajuku, Japan in April 2019, one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in the archipelago.

By revenue, Nerdy is the second largest brand within APR that raked in 95 billion won ($73 million) last year. 

APR grew 10 times in less than a decade. 

Back in 2014, its revenue hovered around 10 billion won, but the figure increased to 259 billion won last year. The 2021 operating profit stands at 14 billion won. 

The company is planning for an initial public offering (IPO) next year.

“We will be valued higher than other platforms that are suffering from operating losses,” Kim said. 

Write to Jeong-Cheol Bae at bjc@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.