[Fashion] The Secret to the Growth of a Homegrown South Korean Sports Brand

When we see others running ahead of us on the same path, we sometimes feel a sense of helplessness. We may even lose the strength to keep running because of the gap that has already opened up. “Balop,” a homegrown South Korean brand, boldly challenged the running shoe market—dominated by global brands—and began blazing its own trail without fixating on the gap. As a result, it has maintained a high repurchase rate for its running shoes and built a loyal fan base. What is the secret behind Balop’s product quality and growth—the kind of success that “everyone in the know” recognizes? Discover the story now.

Running toward freedom in everyday life
Lifestyle Sports Brand ‘Ballop’

Hello. I’m Son Kyung-ho, Head of the Online Merchandising Team at the sports brand Ballop. First, Ballop is a brand that embodies the message of “galloping through the great outdoors barefoot.” We aim to provide the freedom to run lightly through everyday life, offering comfortable shoes and sportswear. At Ballop, I’m responsible for the entire process—from product planning during the launch phase to sales, accounting, and, most importantly, customer service. 

One thing Ballop can confidently sayis that, as a “homegrown Korean brand,” it has achieved significant growthin the running shoe market, which is dominated by global brands. It all began about eight years ago. Ballop was the first in Korea to launch “aqua shoes,” which have since become a must-have for water activities.

After operating the business with that single item for four years, we felt the need to expand into the lifestyle sector. At that time, we also sensed that the running shoe market had been stagnant since the Prospex era. Having gained experience in the athletic shoe market through walking shoes for about one to two years, I felt fairly confident. So,we developed the “Tivart Running Shoes,” which featured a knit upper—a design that was considered niche at the time—and made our full-scale entry into the running shoe market.

The comfort of our flagship product, the “Tivart Running Shoe”
Those who’ve tried them all agree

The Tivart Running Shoe, now considered Balop’s flagship product , was first launched in 2019 and reached cumulative sales of 200,000 pairs in just one year and six months. As I mentioned earlier, its most distinctive feature is that, because it’s made of knit material, it provides a comfortable fit regardless of the user’s foot shape.

Anyone who has tried on the Tivart will agree on just how exceptional the comfort is. In particular, people who experience foot discomfort due to conditions like plantar fasciitis have given it especially high praise. One review that really stood out to me was from a customer who bought dozens of pairs to give to family and relatives. That shows just how widely Tivart running shoes are appreciated by people of all ages and genders, which is why it has stayed with me to this day.

Combining a reliable product with the stories of our supporters
have become a key asset for the brand.

When Valop was looking to diversify its business from aqua shoes to running shoes, “crowdfunding” was just starting to gain significant attention. So, we decided to take the plunge for the first time, hoping to have wadiz supporters verify Valop’s technical capabilities and gauge their response. 

To be honest, our first funding campaign, launched in 2019, wasn’t a huge success. Looking back, I think the main reason for the failure was that we focused too much on “sales.” Since then, through several more campaigns, we’ve learned how to communicate effectively with our supporters, and that has enabled our brand to grow.

I believe this laid the groundwork for the results that exceeded our expectations in the recent Tibart Running Shoes 2.0 funding campaign. Thanks to Tibart’s functionality, the gradient design exclusively introduced in the 2.0 version, and—last but not least—the collective support of our supporters who have trusted and stood by Balop, we were able to raise approximately 80 million won in less than a month. 

The funding campaign isn’t the end
The secret to doubling our brand’s sales

After successfully completing the funding campaign, we immediately launched our store on wadiz. As they say, getting off to a good start is crucial. Since the product’s market potential had already been validated through the funding campaign, we saw this as an opportunity to reach even more supporters and decided to join the store without hesitation. As a result, we rose to the number one spot in the Fashion & Accessories category and generated more than double the sales on the store compared to the amount raised during the funding campaign. 

Currently, there are over 400 reviews on the wadiz Store, showing that many supporters have continued to seek out Valop since the funding campaign. The reason we’ve gained such popularity is that people who had already experienced the product through funding continued to visit the store.

As I mentioned earlier, the Tivart running shoes make great gifts, so many supporters made repeat purchases through the store, where they could easily buy them anytime after the funding ended. That’s why I highly recommend the wadiz Store to anyone who, like us, is confident in the quality of their product.

Thanks to“WA Delivery” —a service directly managed and handled by wadiz—supporters were able to receive their products the very next day after placing an order. Being able to receive a proven product so quickly was a major factor in their decision to buy. 

We were able to reach even those unfamiliar with Valop because, when we first joined the platform, wadiz actively promoted and marketed our products to celebrate the store’s launch. Of course, even now, store discount coupons for supporters are issued and various promotional events are held, providing even more promotional opportunities for our brand.

This has led to brand growth following the funding campaign,
A place where we can plan for the future

Not only that, but I’ve personally noticed that our brand awareness has definitely increased. Thanks to the reviews from our supporters in the Community and wadiz’s visibility, we’ve received a steady stream of inquiries from domestic and international distributors. In particular, we received nearly 20 distribution inquiries from the Japanese market alone. Since we can keep our products on sale in the store at all times and promote them, our brand awareness has naturally grown, which is why I believe opening a store on wadiz was an excellent decision.

Ultimately, what I realized through my experience—from the funding campaign to the store— is that wadiz is “a place where brand growth can take root.”It’s a system where people who were satisfied with the first funding campaigngo on to support the second and third campaigns, and can easily make repeat purchases through the store at any time. Through this process, we’re able to build a base of true fans who love our brand. If you’re a brand that wants to stay connected with your supporters through ongoing communication, I highly recommend giving wadiz a try.

So that Balop’s unique “comfortable freedom”
can be experienced anywhere

The reason Valop has been able to achieve success in a market dominated by global brands is that we’ve stripped away the unnecessary and added what’s essential. We have over 30 proprietary molds tailored to Korean foot sizes. Using the know-how we’ve accumulated over the years, we’ve eliminated price markups through online D2C by manufacturing directly in Korea, China, and Vietnam. I believe the fundamental reason we’ve been able to survive in the market is that we’ve consistently reached out to customers by improving quality while lowering prices. 

Moving forward, we plan to develop new brands across various categories based on this successful track record. As a “lifestyle sports brand,” we’ll strive to bring Balop to a wider audience, so we ask for your continued support both within and outside of wadiz. 

Written by Han Ji-hye
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