SHAPL
Founder: JIN CHANG SOO
Founded in: 2012
Financing status: USD 2 million for undisclosed amount in 2017.
SHAPL, a crowd design D2C platform, said they received USD 2 million in funding from KTB Network.
SHAPL’s crowd design D2C ecommerce platform allows it to materialize what designers embody, then manufacture and sell it at the end. By selecting what to manufacture using the number of likes on design uploads, SHAPL produces then sells directly to customers without distributors.
By uploading design images, designers can easily see what design customers are fond of. Designers get a certain percent commission after they sell products. The commision fee is decided according to the number of likes by customers. After the service launched in June this year, carriers and backpacks designed by professor and designer Dr. Nah were produced and sold for USD 1.4 million.
SHAPL is going to release SHAPL Dr. Nah Carrier & Backpack 2 and different products by more than ten designers. For global marketing purposes, products will be launched in a reward type crowdfunding site called Kickstarter so the products can go into foreign markets.
A spokesperson from KTB Network said that global markets are competitive because the manufacturing and distribution paradigm is shifting, but SHAPL was focused on specialized products, which is why they decided to invest. They added that SHAPL’s D2C business model is strong in providing satisfaction to different parties like manufacturers and customers and it will perform competitively not only in local markets but also in international markets.
Jin Changsoo, CEO of SHAPL, said that this round of funding will give them an opportunity to have more international designers utilizing the SHAPL platform when producing and selling their items. He added that infrastructure for better and different products by local and international designers will be established. Then he said that we will become a global service and customers will be able to purchase good items for a reasonable price.
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This article, entitled “Crowd design and ecommerce platform SHAPL raised USD 2M to reach international designers”, was written in Korean by Margot Jung of Platum, edited by AllTechAsia.