Karrot Market’s UK website. Karrot is Danggeun Market’s overseas version
Danggeun Market Inc., South Korea’s largest online flea market service provider, is expanding its online secondhand marketplace app Karrot across Canada but Quebec.
The move is closely watched by online flea market app operators as Danngeun is taking the neighborhood buy-and-sell business model to parsley-populated regions – a practice barely experimented.
In Canada, Danggeun has been offering its Karrot app service in major cities, including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton. The company is now offering the service across the country except the French-speaking province of Quebec.
Danggeun’s decision to significantly expand its service areas in Canada follows a rapid rise in the number of Karrot app subscribers, which surpassed 1 million last month.
Recently, the Karrot: Buy & Sell locally app ranked third in Canada, beating global social network service FaceBook on Apple’s App Store, according to Danggeun.
Kim Yong-hyun, the company’s co-founder and co-CEO, is currently residing in Canada, leading its expansion push across the North American region.
“For a hyperlocal service like Karrot to be successful in overseas markets, it requires more time and effort than in Korea because it must fully reflect the cultural differences and public sentiment of the region,” said a company official.
DANNGEUN MEANS CARROT IN KOREAN
Danggeun means carrot in Korean, and is also short for “in your neighborhood.”
A deal between Danggeun users
Established in 2015 by Kim Yong-hyun and Kim Jae-hyun, former co-workers at Kakao Corp., Korea’s largest mobile messaging app, Danggeun went abroad by launching the app in the UK in November 2019. It introduced the app in Canada in September 2020, the US in October 2020 and Japan in February 2021.
The online marketplace for secondhand goods connects buyers and sellers in the same neighborhood. In the beginning, it limited direct transactions to those living within 6 km of each other to reduce fraud risk.
Now, it allows users to make deals with others within a 10-kilometer (6.2 miles) radius in Korea and Japan while facilitating transactions for customers as far away as 50 km in the US and Canada.
To enhance its website’s credibility, the company provides verification services based on a user’s location, vetted through the global positioning system (GPS).
It also runs a review system to allow users to rate their counterparts and offer recommendations, using machine learning algorithms.
Screenshot captured from Karrot (Danggeun Market) Canada’s website
INVESTORS
In 2021, Danggeun increased its valuation to $2.6 billion after it raised $153 million from major venture capital funds.
Global investors in the company at the time included DST Global, Aspex Management and Reverent Partners, as well as existing investors such as Goodwater Capital, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Altos Ventures and Kakao Ventures.
Dangguen plans to send business experts from its headquarters to Canada to sharpen its business skills and expand coverage areas.
“It will take a long time to succeed in overseas markets, but we will persistently take on challenges,” said Danggeun Chief Executive Hwang Do-yon.
By Joo-Wan Kim
kjwan@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.
