The company Ably Corporation, which operates the fashion platform Ably, achieved record sales of 334.3 billion won and transaction volume of 2.5 trillion won last year. Although sales grew by over 30% compared to the previous year, the company reported an operating loss of 15.4 billion won, shifting from profit to loss. Despite the rapid increase in users and transaction size, the rise in fixed costs, marketing expenses, and labor costs has been analyzed to have put pressure on profitability.
According to industry sources on the 1st, Ably's advertising expenses increased from 26.6 billion won in 2023 to 42.3 billion won last year, resulting in a drop in return on advertising spend (ROAS) from 1,133% to 790%. At the same time, new businesses, such as the men's fashion app '4910' and the platform 'Amood' for the Japanese market, have demonstrated limited results compared to initial investments.
Additionally, Ably allocated all of its 3.3 billion won profit from 2023 to employee incentives and increased its labor cost expenditure by abolishing the comprehensive wage system. Although these were measures for organizational stabilization and platform enhancement, they led to a deterioration in profitability in the short term.
Nonetheless, the business structure itself is gradually improving, according to evaluations. Ably's gross profit margin (GPM) increased from 39.5% in 2023 to 44.5% last year.
Revenues from the retail media sector, including advertising, are also on the rise. The increase in advertising by sellers and external corporations has established advertising revenue as a new revenue source, and the structure where sellers only bear 5% of promotion costs, with the company covering the rest, has contributed to platform activation. Overall increases in visitor numbers and transaction volume are also showing upward trends.
Ably recently declared a transition from 'style commerce' to 'style portal.' By inducing consumption based on preferences through content platforms like webtoons and web novels and incorporating fintech functionalities like the payment service 'Ably Pay', it is increasing stay time and purchase conversion rates. This strategy aims to build a content-based lock-in structure beyond a simple shopping mall.
This is also a distinguishing factor from companies like Coupang and Musinsa, which focus on logistics and private branding (PB). While they push products based on supply chain competitiveness, Ably is emphasizing maximizing user experience centered on curation. The attempt is to increase the time spent on the platform through content consumption and provide a shopping environment optimized for individual consumers, thereby securing loyal users.
The company is reinvesting over 10 billion won annually in new businesses for expansion and market capture. This aggressive expansion is backed by a 100 billion won investment raised in 2023 from companies like Alibaba. Subsequently, diversification into content, fintech, and global platforms has accelerated, and recently, news of a projected return to profitability in the first quarter of 2025 has begun to show some visible results of structural improvements.
Kang Seok-ho, CEO of Ably, stated, 'We will achieve limitless growth by expanding our business into men's and global markets.' An industry insider noted, 'While the scale has rapidly grown, the improvement in profitability has been slow, making the early establishment of new businesses crucial.'