Shopping platform Queenit receives $43 mn funding from VC juggernauts

Online shopping platform Queenit recently received 36 billion won ($30 million) from Kakao Ventures Corp., SoftBank Ventures Korea Corp. and more, according to industry insiders. 

Queenit is a shopping platform targeting women in their 40s and 50s. Within just 16 months of launch, it received an accumulated investment amount of 51.5 million won. Its corporate value is estimated to be around 200 billion won. 

Kakao Ventures Corp. is an independent subsidiary of Kakao Corp. while SoftBank Ventures Korea Corp. is the South Korean venture capital arm of the Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group Corp. 

The venture capital firms’ reasoning appears to be that while the general e-commerce platforms are already saturated with Coupang and Naver Shopping dominating the market, shopping platforms specifically catering to women in their 40s and up are still relatively rare. 

Other online shopping sites targeting the same demographic include ZigZag’s Posty and For Me but the activity on their sites are miniscule compared to that of Queen It.

The specialized shopping platform has already become one of the top five online shopping services in South Korea. 

Its popularity grew exponentially last year, when it recorded an average monthly sales figure of 10 billion won. According to app research agency Mobile Index, the Queen It app trails just behind the uber popular Ably Corp., Musinsa Co., ZigZag operated by Kakao Corp., and Brandi Inc. 

Korean women in their 40s and 50s, the main clientele for department store fashion, have opted to shop online in recent years. 

More than 700 brands, including department store labels, are available on Queen It. The platform does not exclude the millennial generation. 

Brands that are not so popular at physical stores, Benetton for example, are also available on the app.

Queenit is slated to expand its sales category to include accessories, outdoor clothing, and beauty.

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