Pulio is a home massager company, aspiring to be the top player in the online lifestyle & health appliances market.

Having started its business with calf massagers, Pulio now offers a wide range of similar home massage appliances, including neck and shoulder massagers, massage mats, massage guns, etc. Ranking top inCustomer Satisfaction for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023 and achievingKRW 50 billion in annual sales in 2023, the maker has become the leading massager brand in Korea in just a short span of time. And Coupang Rocket Growth was there with Pulio throughout this journey.

Prior to working with Coupang, Pulio had insisted on D2C distribution via its owned brand mall for customer satisfaction.

Pulio launched its first calf massager product in December 2022. When it first launched, the market didn't respond immediately. To survive in a sea of competitors offering similar products, Pulio upgraded its products by paying close attention to the product reviews and voice of the customer (VOC). "While some of our competitors stayed on with their first production, we continued to improve our products. We’ve made our 8th upgrade lately."

Pulio sought to differentiate itself in terms of its distribution channels, not just its products. Even when sales were growing, its only sales channel was D2C. "Profit margins weren’t the main factor when we decided to operate via D2C only. It was a choice we made to ensure customer satisfaction."

As massagers are a product that comes in direct contact with the body and is used repeatedly, it was important for Pulio to respond to customer complaints quickly and accurately, which was why the massager maker decided to manage points of customer contact directly.

"The most important thing that differentiates our brand is our commitment to customer satisfaction. By the time unhappy customers reach us through other channels, they are already angry about their problem that is still not resolved, which is exactly what makes them turn their back on us completely. To avoid this, we thought that we had to communicate directly through our own channels."

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Pulio chose Coupang RocketGrowth as its first external channel of distribution and market expansion when its products were beginning to prove themselves in the market.

Pulio's commitment to customer satisfaction paid off in February 2023 when its popular calf massager began to attract market attention. As sales continued to grow through word of mouth, Pulio started to revisit its channel strategy.

"Consumers don’t like it if the official mall is their only choice. We saw that the limitations were clear. We had to take the next step and expand our channels in order to increase our marketshare. We decided that we must go with Coupang because it is the platform with the large number of consumers in the country, and across all age groups too."

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After onboarding with RocketGrowth, Pulio saw their sales explode, which have remained stable since.

Pulio joined Coupang Rocket Growth in May 2023, and its sales have increased dramatically. Pulio's annual sales have surpassed KRW 50 billion, and its products have become one of the top-selling products in Coupang's health appliances category.

For the manufacturer, the biggest advantages of Coupang Rocket Growth were the exposure to domestic commerce consumers and the ease of operations.

"On Coupang, our products were shown to scores of consumers, and our sales started to skyrocket. And it was easy to operate too, since we could just inbound the quantities that we can sell. Our products are bulky, and there are lots of them. So, it was great to be able to useRocket Growth as a second warehouse."

Building on its success on Rocket Growth, Pulio has expanded its distribution channels, including such offline channels as Kyobo Bookstore and Olive Young. Its monthly sales on Coupang Rocket Growth have more than tripled a year after its onboarding, and the massager maker continues to enjoy success with Rocket Growth.

Pulio plans to utilize Coupang Rocket Growth in various ways to sell new products and expand its operations globally.

Aided by its success with calf massagers, Pulio has expanded its offerings to include massagers for other body parts and related accessories. "New products keep selling out, but once we get to the point where we have a stable inventory, we'll provide them via RocketGrowth."

In the meantime, Pulio has been leveraging its domestic market performance to speed up its expansion to global markets such asAustralia.

"When we go global, our international partners would want to see our performance on Coupang because sales from the local commerce platforms provide crucial references."

Pulio's story is good proof that even for top brand owners who want to tightly control the quality and distribution channels of their own branded products, Coupang Rocket Growth is an excellent partner for growth.

"When you consider consumer exposure,  ease of operation and fees, Coupang Rocket Growth should be the top sales  channel to consider."

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