Is there a maker who successfully raised 2 billion in funding with white sneakers? [Genuio Maker Part 1]
Together with wadiz
People Making Waves
Game Changer, Genuio
What is a Game Changer?
It refers to people who are making waves in partnership with wadiz.
Game Changer shares the heartfelt stories of makers.
Interview Highlights!
- Why did Genuio CEO Seong Yul-deok start a shoe brand?
- What does it take for a new brand to succeed in the Korean online market?
- Did they launch a store promotion?
▲ Watch the video now
Why did Genuio CEO Seong Yul-deok launch a shoe brand?
Q. Hello, CEO
Please introduce Genuio to our maker community.
Hello. I’m Seong Yul-deok, CEO of Genuio.
Genuio is a fashion brand thatproduces and sells products using the exact same manufacturing methods as factories that produce for brands like Prada, Dior, and Balenciaga .
Q. Is there a specific reason you chose shoes as your product?
I was stationed in Italy for about three to three and a half years. Until then, I didn’t realize how good Italian shoes were.
But when I returned to Korea and compared them to other shoes, I realized, “Ah, the ones I was wearing were actually high-quality.” Once you’ve experienced something good, it’s hard to go back to anything less, right?
I thought that if I wanted to wear comfortable, high-quality shoes, it might be better to start my own brand, so I launched Genuio.
Q. Starting with those white sneakers,
and successfully secured about 2 billion won in funding on wadiz.
I ran two funding campaigns for shoeson wadiz, and both were huge successes.
The first funding raised about 240 million won, and the second funding raised about 1.84 billion won.
What does it take for a new brand to succeed in the Korean online market?
Q. That’s incredible! What’s your secret?
I believe thatfor a new brand to succeed in the Korean online market, prices must be as low as possible. This is especially important for companies like ours that manufacture products overseas and sell them domestically.
Q. Lowering prices must not have been easy.
The key was to reduce or eliminate intermediary fees. So, I decided to find factories directly and communicate with the artisans myself. Fortunately, I had visited some luxury shoe factories while working in Italy. However, when I proposed working together to launch a new brand, they turned me down.
Photo courtesy of Genuio
Q. Why were you turned down?
Since the initial order volume was so small, no factory was willing to produce it for us.I traveled extensivelyduring that time. Whenever I was turned down, I would always ask the factory owner, “Is there anyone among your acquaintances who would be willing to meet with me? Aren’t most of the factory owners and workers in this area your friends?”
Eventually, I found one.
Q. How long did it take you to find a factory?
It took almost six months. It was a factory that produced products like Church’s for the Prada Group, and it turned out they had just expanded and relocated. Since they didn’t have enough work from Prada alone, they were lucky enough to take on our products as well.
Did they launch a store promotion?
Q. Genuio’s shoes were born after a difficult journey!
Tell us a little about them.
Genuio’s “Perpetuo” is a shoe that embodies all of our expertise. In the early days, we manufactured according to European standards, but we gradually refined the design to fit Korean feet.
We also identified the ideal leather thickness and shoe shape (last) that Koreans find comfortable. Although production takes place in Italy, this product continuously incorporates feedback from our Korean supporters.
It’s the culmination of our know-how—we’ve made countless adjustments to ensure the shoes fit Korean feet perfectly while maintainingEuropean premium quality.
Q. I heard you recently held a store promotion event with wadiz.
What are your expectations for this campaign?
Due to global inflation, prices and production costs have nearly doubled. We’ve had no choice but to raise the price of the Perpetuo repeatedly.
However, during this store promotion , you’ll be able to purchase them at a price lower than our regular online store price. We hope many supporters will take this opportunity to experience Genuio Perpeto sneakers.
Since the Perpetuo sneakers achieved massive success during funding on wadiz and have remained the top-selling item on our online store ever since, we encourage any supporters who have been hesitating to buy them to definitely seize this opportunity.
▶ How to Start a Wadiz Project
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