Captivating men in their 30s, 'Athler' sales surge 400%... Also winning over VC investment interest

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"While brands targeting men continue to struggle with online penetration, Bind is an attractive platform capable of driving their core revenue. We highly evaluated its ability to build a solid customer base among middle-aged and older men over the past year and deliver overwhelming sales growth for listed brands." (Cho Hyeon-ik, Senior Executive at Kakao Ventures)

Bind, which operates the men's fashion platform 'Athler' for men aged 35 and above, recently raised 10 billion won in Series B funding. The round was led by Company K Partners, with participation from Laguna Investment and UNIST Technology Holdings. Existing investors Kakao Ventures, Base Ventures, Dasung Ventures, and Dcamp also joined as follow-on investors.

Kakao Ventures' decision to continue follow-on investment in Bind is underpinned by confidence in Athler's core capabilities as a commerce platform. Cho Hyeon-ik, Senior Executive at Kakao Ventures, said, "Bind's challenge going forward is to continuously onboard attractive brands for its target customer segment and expand the platform's influence." He added, "We expect it to continue growing by optimizing trust and experience."

Athler is a fashion platform targeting men aged 35 and above who have been overlooked between existing platforms centered on those in their 20s and 30s and senior brands. It is characterized by providing brand curation and content tailored to changes in body type and lifestyle.

In particular, it focuses on reducing search fatigue and maximizing purchase efficiency, taking into account busy daily routines. The platform has rapidly expanded its scope by onboarding golf wear and outdoor gear preferred by middle-aged men, as well as men's fashion brands that have not yet entered the online market.

As a result, sales surged 407% year-on-year even amid stagnation in the online fashion market, while monthly active users (MAU) across web and app surpassed 3.03 million. Cho said, "Bind differentiates itself by securing listed brands that have excellent quality and design capabilities but struggled to secure distribution channels, thereby fostering an ecosystem for online men's fashion platforms."

Bind is a startup founded by CEO Kim in his mid-20s. An engineering graduate, he entered the entrepreneurial arena while active in a business consulting society during his studies in Environmental Engineering at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). He refined his current business model through Fast Ventures' acceleration program.

He focused on working men who have financial means but find it difficult to locate suitable online fashion platforms. Taking this as his idea, he launched the company in June 2022 and has shown rapid growth by raising investment from the seed stage to Series B within four years.

Byun Jun-young, Vice President at Company K Partners, who participated in this round, said, "It is a company that most sharply penetrated the digital transformation of the middle-aged and older men's fashion market, which had remained offline." He added, "We expect it to establish a new consumption culture for men beyond simple commerce."

Bind plans to invest the funds raised in this round in enhancing brand experience (BX) and improving platform structure. The company aims to expand its categories from fashion to encompass the entire male lifestyle, aspiring to become a platform that manages the daily lives of men aged 35 and above.

CEO Kim Si-hwa stated, "Men aged 35 and above prefer to settle on a single platform that understands them and can be trusted, rather than seeking the lowest price." He added, "We will elevate Athler from a simple shopping mall into a platform that designs customer tastes, becoming the most trusted company for men in South Korea."

[MoneyToday startup media platform Unicorn Factory]