Local Entrepreneurs: With All Their Hearts – GROUND PLAN
When you meet someone special, you intuitively know that something is unique and extraordinary just by sharing a few words with that person.
Son Seok-ho and Kim Yung-yeong, a young married couple whom I met at their café, Café Barie, which is located in downtown Gwangju, gave me the strong impression that they are somewhat different. They are currently based in Seoul, but they were once citizens of Gwangju and still have family in the city.
Their humbleness made it difficult to recognize that they were the CEOs of the group BARI & U, a group that operates in a diverse range of industries from fashion and beauty, to food and beverages. Putting the hit sensation of their online clothing market “BARI EDITION” (formerly known as bagazimuri) and renowned local café and restaurant Café Barie aside, I interviewed them to discuss their recently launched cosmetics brand “GROUND PLAN”, in which Kim has devoted more of her effort.
As in all other success stories, there was a myriad of ups and downs on their road to success. Regardless of those mishaps and failures, they became more resilient and focused. Active attempts towards finding solutions and initiating these solutions were the reasons behind their break-through. Consequently, they have expanded their fashion business into food and beverages, cosmetics and ultimately, culture and lifestyle.
“I am not all that different from our customers, just a mother and a wife. Thus, I tend to think about and look for the basic necessities of our daily lives and the products that we can trust,” said Kim with confidence. She claims that although she does not have a philosophy of her own, all her nerves were focused on one thing, “trustworthiness.”
Kim and Son have experienced numerous requests and offers from other competitive cosmetics brands in their brand’s heyday, to either add their cosmetics items into the fashion business or to expand, especially in make-up. In 2015, they had finally found themselves confident in being able to satisfy the needs of their customers and thus established GROUND PLAN, focusing on skin care cosmetics.
The idea of Kim’s “Fundamentals” was the brand’s key idea and where its name GROUND PLAN originates. Its products are ideally sourced from the soil, to help maintain healthy skin for all women, 24 hours a day. At the primary stage of its product development, Kim aimed to create the best skin care products, regardless of cost. As a result, they introduced a face mist – 24H Secret Mist, made out of 100 percent extract from natural ingredients.
“I did not expect such high sales of the product at first, because I thought I was going to be the only one using it. But the sales skyrocketed after a few reviews were shared online,” said Kim with joy.
The review from a mother was the focal point for the brand’s sudden rise to popularity in the overloaded, competitive cosmetics market in Korea. It was all about the effectiveness of the face mist on atopy or atopic syndrome, a state of hypersensitivity to environmental allergens, which is a big issue among Koreans. The woman who wrote the review first inquired as to whether the face mist was safe for her to share with her child. There were no concerns at all since the spray was made entirely from natural resources.
After a few uses, the face mist works as a moisturizer keeping users’ skin hydrated. More grateful reviews surfaced, expressing the effectiveness of the products in relieving medical symptoms, such as acne, eczema, rashes and other congenital skin troubles. Furthermore, all feedback and reviews were directly communicated to Kim through her social network service accounts, especially through her NAVER blog and Instagram. Her unique style of communication and long-experience from the past communicating with customers made her competent and helped her stand out.
With her efforts being vigorous online, GROUND PLAN went viral even in China, Japan and the U.S. She did not anticipate high demands in other countries. However, due to the Hallyu, The Korean Wave, visitors at their flagship store in the fashion district, Shinsa-dong, Seoul, bought luggage loads of the products and resold them back in their home countries. At some point they will officially export but they are waiting for “the Right Moment” now, as Son and Kim state. Until then, they will build a substantial domestic brand as they did with their other businesses.
Kim is diligent and consistently passionate. Every month, she still travels around the country to all the pop-up stores opening at various venues. Not all leaders put such effort in being at the forefront of communicating with customers, with hearing their needs and satisfying their demands. The couple’s warm-heartedness and passion towards their business and young people are the driving forces of their future businesses’ transactions and success.
GROUND PLAN – http://www.grplan.com/
21-9, Bullo-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju, Korea
광주광역시 동구 불로동 21-9
062.225.8241
Opening Hours: 12:00-21:00
CAFÉ BARIE Chungjang – HYPERLINK “http://www.cafebarie.com/”www.cafebarie.com
21-9, Bullo-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju, Korea
광주광역시 동구 불로동 21-9
062.224.8241
Opening Hours: 11:00-22:00 (Last Order 21:00)
BARI EDITION – www.bariedition.com
38, Dosan-daero 11-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
서울특별시 강남구 도산대로11길 38 (신사동)
02.1577.8241