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Wisely, which operates a D2C subscription service for shaving products, achieved rapid growth and market expansion by building the following proprietary business virtuous cycle strategy, "the flywheel."

1. Low-cost structure: Wisely reduces logistics costs through its initial D2C model, cuts marketing costs through referrals and repurchases and lowers logistics costs through cross-purchases.

2. Customer experience reinvestment: Based on its low-cost structure, Wisely keeps product prices steady while steadily improving products, UI/UX and other elements to enhance the customer experience.

3. Satisfaction: Wisely constantly surveys and analyzes satisfaction at each key stage of the customer journey through NPS and uses the findings as a basis for improving the customer experience.

4. Referrals, repurchases and cross-purchases: Existing-customer-centered marketing and NPS-centered decision-making activate referrals. The subscription model is effective in driving repurchases among neutral customers in low-involvement consumer goods categories. Wisely launches new products and brands in response to customer requests to encourage cross-purchases.

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"We are trying to change the irrational razor market."

This is the opening line of the "Letter From the Founders" that "Wisely," which operates a D2C (Direct to Consumer)1 1An e-commerce model that directs consumers straight to a company’s own online mall and sells products directly to them without going through distribution channels 닫기 subscription service for shaving products, sent to customers with its products in 2018. In 2018, Wisely launched shaving products in the razor market, where prices were heavily inflated by high distribution and marketing costs, using a D2C structure to reduce distribution costs while increasing product cost and quality. In 2020, just two years after its launch, it ranked No. 4 (6%) in the oligopolistic manual razor market, showing explosive growth.2 2Men’s Grooming Trend Report 2020, Opensurvey (2020) 닫기 However, some inside the company were concerned about its rapid growth. This was because Wisely appeared to be following the "burning" strategy3 3A strategy of burning through assets to expand a company’s scale or increase market share. It is also known as the strategy used by Netflix and Coupang. Netflix poured a massive budget into content production and accumulated a vast library of content, establishing a dominant position in the OTT market. It usually requires massive investment to attempt. 닫기 of startups, which pour as many resources as possible into quickly capturing market share. Companies that focus only on short-term growth without building a stable business structure are bound to collapse before long. Kim Dong-wook, co-founder and CEO of Wisely, also said, "Wisely, too, almost fell into the "burning dilemma" by focusing on short-term results and pursuing only rapid growth."

However, Wisely has now established a stable position in the shaving products market. It has positioned itself as the fastest-growing company in the industry, with its market share rising 3.3 percentage points from the previous year (9.3%). The repurchase rate among subscription customers has reached 93%, showing that Wisely has also succeeded in securing a powerful base of loyal customers. About 30% of new customers come through referrals from existing customers, compared with an industry average of about 10%. Recently, after customers first asked the company to create new products, Wisely launched men’s cosmetics and haircare brands. Kim cited "the flywheel," which refers to the virtuous cycle of a business, as Wisely’s unique strategy for expanding its scale and market while communicating with highly loyal customers. He also said Wisely’s flywheel is the driving force that enables the company to look beyond short-term results toward long-term growth. DBR met with Kim to hear about Wisely’s flywheel strategy.

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