The encyclopedia · Finance & Accounting · Financial decision · 2025
Korea's top-selling luxury platform had ₩53.7B revenue — and ₩700M cash
Jente led Korea's luxury platforms by revenue in 2024 but held just ₩700M in cash. In April 2025 it put its headquarters up for sale at ₩25B to keep going.
Jente · 2025-04-21
What happened
Jente grew into South Korea's largest luxury fashion platform by revenue, posting ₩53.7 billion in 2024 — thirty times its 2020 level — on a brokerage model connecting boutiques and consumers. The growth was real; the cash was not.
By the end of 2024 the company held only about ₩700 million in cash, carried partial capital erosion, and lost a planned ₩11 billion investment round. In April 2025 Jente put its Sinsa-dong headquarters up for sale at ₩25 billion to raise money — a luxury platform with ₩53.7 billion in revenue selling its building to keep operating.
The squeeze came as the whole sector turned: rival Balan had filed for court receivership in March 2025, Chinese e-commerce platforms were taking share, and investors stopped funding losses. By April 2026, press analysis of the platforms' 2025 audit reports put Jente's cash runway at roughly two months.
Why it happened
- Growth was funded by a thin brokerage take rate and outside investment rounds rather than profitable sales.
- When the ₩11 billion round was cancelled, there was no buffer — ₩700M cash against a ₩53.7B revenue operation.
- The sector downturn after Balan's receivership closed the refinancing route the model had depended on.
The lesson
Revenue rank is not solvency. A marketplace living on thin take rates must fund growth from margin, not from the next round — rounds can vanish while the cost base stays.
Aftermath
Jente kept operating while selling assets and chasing new funding; by April 2026 its runway was estimated at about two months. Korea's luxury platform field was consolidating around whoever still had cash — Mustit sought investment or a sale, and Rebonz was acquired in December 2025.
Sources
- Money Today — "Luxury platform crisis becomes real: Jente, which touted top revenue, lists HQ for ₩25B", 21 April 2025 (HQ listed for sale; ₩700M cash at end-2024; ₩11B investment cancelled)
- The Tracker — "'Revenue ₩53.7B' Jente: investment cut off, partial capital erosion", 2025 (revenue 30x since 2020; partial capital erosion; 'second Balan' concerns)
- Digital Daily — "Cash stamina: Jente ~2 months, Trenbe ~1 year — the gap among four luxury platforms", 18 April 2026 (runway estimates from 2025 audit reports)
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