Ever since he was young, Seong-joon Hong believed that he could do very well if he worked in the fashion industry. As a teenager, he would spend most of the money he earned from part-time work to buy clothes, which he saw as a vital means to express himself. In college, however, he ended up majoring in interior design, which he saw as more practical.
When Seong-joon eventually realized that interior design work didn’t suit him, he used his skillset to work as a painting director at an automotive painting company, flying around the world to supervise painting designs on site. After a particularly grueling business trip in May 2017, Seong-joon, who by that point was in his early 30s, quit as soon as he returned home. He decided to fulfill his two-decade-long dream of running a men’s clothing company, establishing Lonnie J and launching in December that same year.
Starting a business is not easy, with 7 out of 10 new companies going out of business within five years according to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Indeed, in his first year, Seon-joon worked harder than he ever had in his life, collecting clothes he ordered from dozens of wholesalers in the Dongdaemun Market each day to sell them in his store. “For the first half of the year, I worked from 5 AM to 10 PM every day looking for stylish clothes sought after by customers,” said Seong-joon. While his offline sales were not bad, Seong-joon had far bigger aspirations for his company. At the suggestion of one of his employees, he joined Coupang to expand his sales channels.
Five years later, Lonnie J has grown into a resounding success. In his first month, the company brought in around 1 million won in revenue (around 780 dollars)—today, Lonnie J’s monthly revenues are over 100 times that, ranging between 100 to 200 million won. Around 60 to 70% of these sales come from Coupang, where Lonnie J has cultivated a loyal following.
Central to Lonnie J’s success has been Seong-joon’s acute fashion sense, which has guided the brand through the ever-changing trends of Korea’s fashion culture. “A key trend that has permeated through the men’s apparel market in recent years has been ‘simple is best,’” said Seong-joon. “This is leading to the popularity of overfit designs, and this trend is even spreading among the elderly.” Lonnie J clothes strive for the effortless look, adopting an overfit style that is at once fashionable as it is simple and comfortable.
For aspiring online fashion moguls, Seong-joon had a few pieces of advice. First, “You should have an almost overwhelming number of products,” he said. “Some online clothing vendors buy two or three types of clothes, post them online, and wait for them to sell. But men’s apparel alone has thousands of designs and types, right? With so many different tastes, you need to provide an assortment, so you should aim for at least five to 10 pieces for each design.”
Second, it is crucial to respond preemptively to rapidly changing trends and tastes, noted Seong-joon. “Customer tastes change very quickly from season to season—for example, in the hot summer months, ‘cooling t-shirts’ made of cooling material and ‘muscle fit’ products to accentuate muscles are popular.” He also recommended making good use of seasonal product keywords to increase exposure to customers. “Coupang allows you to set up to 20 product keywords, and you should use them well to select the hottest keywords in fashion.”
Third, Seong-joon recommends finding the right online marketplace with low fees and a large customer base. “For beginning entrepreneurs, even just 10,000 or 50,000 won is crucial,” he said. “Coupang’s commission is cheaper than other online marketplaces, and with low fees, you can focus purely on product competitiveness and marketing.” He added, “The fact that there are many loyal customers is also a big advantage for beginners. Customers stay longer on Coupang than on other online markets, so they are more likely to make a purchase. That’s why I focus on Coupang first.”
Finally, he recommends taking things slow at first, starting the online business as a side job if possible. “In the case of online fashion, the barrier to entry is low enough that you can start with just 5 million won, but the competition is fierce,” said Seong-joon. “Having two jobs prevents the risk of being ‘all in’ and gives you the time to develop your online sales, product selection skills, and product philosophy.”
He added, “Above all else, if you take on the things you love and enjoy, you will be able to go the distance.”
