Korean D2C brand house Eastend lists on Konex after 43% sales jump
What's the deal? Eastend, the Korean company behind women's casual label CityBreeze and skincare brand VT Note, began trading on the Korea ExchangeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Konex market on October 26. The exchange approved the listing on October 22, with Kyobo SecuritiesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → serving as designated adviser.
What's the endgame? Konex is a market for early-stage small and mid-sized firms that can later move to the larger Kosdaq exchange if they meet certain requirements. Eastend plans to use the listing to build its disclosure systems and credibility before pursuing a Kosdaq transfer.
Why now? Founded in 2016, Eastend runs multiple brands through a direct-to-consumer model, including CityBreeze, contemporary casual line ARTIDDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and VT Note. It began online and now operates 22 department store outlets nationwide, a flagship store in Seoul's Hannam-dong, and is targeting Japan, China, and the US.
By the numbers: First-half revenue reached US$14.9M, up 43.2% year-on-year, and gross margin recovered to 57.9% from 48.7% for all of last year. Full-year 2025 revenue was US$22.5M, though the company posted an operating loss of US$7.46M.
Chief executive officer Kim Dong-jin holds 1.85 million shares, a 38.50% stake. "We took our first step into the capital market 10 years after founding, without a conglomerate base or foreign capital," he said, adding that the company will push its Kosdaq transfer and expand its brands globally.
What could go wrong? Turning its operating loss into a profit remains the key task, and the listing itself matters less than whether the recent improvement holds.
The signal: Eastend's debut is a small brand house entering the capital market rather than a major offering. With fashion platform Musinsa and beauty firm Goodai Global pursuing listings, investor interest in K-fashion and K-beauty is rising — but Eastend sits at an earlier stage, building a public-company track record first.
Read more: platum.kr
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
