Saranghae Qazaq (2023-2024)

"Saranghae Qazaq" emerged as a spin-off from Bongwha Cotton, designed as part of a larger initiative for sustainable fashion. This project embodied an international collaboration between Korea and Kazakhstan.

The initiative was launched to address the issue of dead-stock in Korea, where fashion brands frequently overproduce, resulting in 20-30% of inventory remaining unsold. These unsold items, often termed dead-stock, are typically incinerated or sent to landfills, exacerbating environmental concerns.

Recognizing an opportunity to repurpose this dead-stock, the approach involved re-pricing and targeting new consumer segments with distinct fashion tastes. Purply Inc. engaged with approximately 30 boutique fashion brands in Korea, establishing partnerships to redirect dead-stock to international markets.

To expand this initiative, I made a trip to Kazakhstan, leveraging connections established during my Russian language training trip in 2017. Promotional materials were brought along to recruit potential team members, leading to the successful establishment of local business contacts.

Upon returning to Korea, I launched an Instagram account to collect Kazakh customers. The instagram account showcased the latest Korean fashion trends written in Russian. This account featured not only fashion trend news but also heavily discounted dead-stock items, sold through my Kazakh partner's company. The business quickly gained momentum, successfully selling Korean products at significant discounts.

Nonetheless, the labor-intensive process of sourcing dead-stock prompted a strategic pivot towards selling new products that were overpriced in Kazakhstan but affordable in Korea. The product we identified was socks. In Kazakhstan, quality socks were often priced between $5-10 per pair, while in Korea, similar quality socks could be procured for less than $1 wholesale price.

This gave birth to a brand named "Saranghae Qazaq". With a motto "Made in Korea with love for Kazakhstan", we focused on brining affordable and trendy products from Korea to Kazakhstan, based on careful curation and care for the Kazakh customers.