Comet Comforters, a Coupang Private Label Brands (CPLB) product, are loved by Coupang customers for their simple yet timeless designs, high quality, and great prices. The entry-level comforters can be bought for around 20,600 won, or 16 dollars, and have earned thousands of five-star reviews online.
The success of combining great quality and prices may seem obvious in retrospect, but even just a few years before, Johyun Design, the manufacturer of Comet Comforters, had been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
Bo-young Kim, the CEO of Johyun Design, spent over a decade working as a designer for Korea’s top bedding companies such as Evezary, Park Hong Geun, and Renoma Home before launching her own company in 2004. Johyun Design built up its reputation as a designer bedding brand, making its name through sales in popular department stores in Seoul, as well as through shopping channels and online retailers. At its peak, the company had 70 employees and annual sales of 10 billion won (around 7.8 million dollars).
In 2020, however, a few unlucky home shopping launches put immense financial pressure on Johyun Design. TV shopping channels can be a great venue for significant sales in a short period from the exposure to hundreds of thousands of viewers, but if for some reason the products don’t sell, this can be devastating for the company. As the losses accumulated, Bo-young took out multiple loans, which put even more pressure on the company. Bankruptcy loomed closer and closer, until one day, an acquaintance suggested she look into CPLB, as there were no CPLB comforters or blankets at the time.
“As soon as I heard that, I thought, of course, I could be the best person for the job,” said Bo-young. “We’ve built up experience and know-how in product planning and mass production through department stores, home shopping channels, online retailers, and so on.”
Bo-young thought that with Coupang’s online model, she could sell high-quality products at lower prices because she wouldn’t be beholden to the seasonal model of department stores and home shopping channels, which required the release of new products each season in the same manner as fashion apparel. On Coupang, the more positive reviews a product accumulated, the better the sales would be, favoring more timeless designs and reducing design, production, and other costs.
Bo-young reached out to CPLB, and discussions between the two companies proceeded swiftly. They entered into an agreement at the end of 2020, and from 2021, Johyun Design comforters and blankets were sold under Coupang’s “Comet” private label brand. By the second half of 2021, Johyun Design posted 3.5 billion won (around 2.8 million dollars) in CPLB sales alone. For 2022, Bo-young expects sales to be triple that amount. To date, the Comet Home Soft Double-Sided Comforter has over 4,200 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5 stars.
“The hardest part for me with home shopping was the risk of excess inventory despite the significant amounts of money invested in pre-production,” said Bo-young. “In contrast, CPLB directly purchases our products and sells them through Coupang, which reduces logistics and promotional marketing costs. All we have to do is plan and make good products.” She added, “CPLB is the king of distribution!”
