[Exclusive] The Betrayal of SNS Craze Items 'Kkalgeum Daejang, Merythod, Ilsang Gonggam'... The Fall of Media Commerce Myth 'BLACKHOLIC'

[Sold-out streaks with a single video... The light and shadow of media commerce where 'content is the store']
[Omnidirectional expansion from household goods to beauty and automobiles... "Only ads remained without brand fandom"]
[From 300 billion won in sales to bankruptcy... Nasmedia incurs tens of billions in tied-up funds]

Idea household goods brands 'Kkalgeum Daejang' and 'Ilsang Gonggam', and color cosmetics brand 'Merythod', which you might have come across at least once while scrolling through your SNS feed. Media commerce company BLACKHOLIC Co., Ltd. (CEO Jang Se-ok), which approached 300 billion won in annual sales by churning out so-called 'SNS craze items', has ultimately gone bankrupt.

The 12th Division of the Seoul Bankruptcy Court declared BLACKHOLIC bankrupt on the 19th. It is being taken as an incident that reveals the light and shadow of the 'media commerce' era, which built up sales through advertising expenses.

◆ 'Planning' over manufacturing, 'content' over stores... What is media commerce?

BLACKHOLIC is a typical first-generation media commerce company. Media commerce takes the exact opposite path of the traditional manufacturing and sales method of making a product first and then securing a distribution network. It is a method of first identifying consumer needs and trends with data at the sales stage, then planning the product, producing it as SNS video content, and directly marketing and selling it to consumers.

Consumers open their wallets, captivated by 'before & after' videos or short-form content featuring ingenious usage methods encountered on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc., rather than the product's specifications.

◆ From bathroom cleaning to car tuning... A 'brand republic' that had everything

BLACKHOLIC's biggest weapon was its vast brand portfolio. They expanded their brands across all areas, from idea products that solve minor inconveniences in daily life to beauty, automobiles, and kids' care.

The most representative brands are the household goods brands 'Kkalgeum Daejang' and 'Ilsang Gonggam'. Consisting of products that scratch the itch for housewives, such as bathroom cleaning supplies and crevice storage boxes, these brands built up strong brand awareness, with Ilsang Gonggam exceeding 2,500 cumulative reviews.

The expansion in the beauty sector was also fierce. Led by the color makeup brand 'Merythod', they successively launched fragrance skincare 'Etiere', women's skincare 'Ayuayu', and hair care '563 Lab', targeting the female customer base. In addition, they possessed dozens of brands alone, including ▲automobile supplies brands 'Blackpot' and 'Roadmonster' ▲functional underwear 'Relaxism' ▲infant and toddler specialized brand 'Himchan-i' ▲blue light blocking glasses 'Opted'.

◆ "There were no loyal customers"... A sandcastle that collapsed when ad spending was cut off

However, a fatal weakness was hidden behind the flashy brand lineup. Customers merely made 'impulse purchases' after watching stimulating video ads; they did not buy them "because they were BLACKHOLIC's products." In other words, there was absolutely no brand loyalty or fandom.

This soon returned as a boomerang of 'ad addiction'. As advertising efficiency (ROAS) dropped due to policies such as Apple's strengthening of privacy protection, the profit structure rapidly collapsed. If they previously generated 300 won in sales with 100 won in ad spending, it recently became difficult to recover even 150 won.

◆ Collapsed income statement... Liquidity mismatch and capital impairment

BLACKHOLIC's bankruptcy is the result of a typical 'high-cost, low-efficiency' structure hitting its limit. Looking at the sales trend on the financial statements (consolidated basis), after peaking at 290.2 billion won in 2022, its external size plummeted by more than 60% in just two years to 238 billion won in 2023 and 115.9 billion won in 2024.

If it were a general manufacturing company, it would have defended itself by reducing variable costs in line with the sales decline, but BLACKHOLIC could not do so. This is because, due to the nature of media commerce, sales are dependent on 'advertising expenses'. As ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) plummeted following Apple's strengthening of its privacy protection policy, the structure where 100 won was invested to earn 300 won deteriorated into a structure where it was difficult to recover even 150 won.

This directly led to the collapse of operating profit, a profitability indicator. Even while sales were cut in half, the company failed to control SG&A expenses, which have the nature of fixed costs, recording massive operating losses of about 12.2 billion won in 2023 and about 14.7 billion won in 2024.

A more fatal problem lay in its financing structure. BLACKHOLIC relied on debt financing, such as convertible bonds (CB), to secure working capital.

The 30 billion won worth of CBs raised from Nasmedia and others was a 'winning move' that could be expanded into capital through stock conversion when the company was growing, but it became a 'boomerang' choking the company when performance declined. In particular, in the case of the Nasmedia investment, the un-repaid principal alone amounted to 23.2 billion won as of the end of September 2025, but the company had absolutely no cash capacity to repay it.

In terms of fund management, there was also a maturity mismatch structure. They brought in debt with a put option (right to claim early repayment) and exhausted it on inventory assets or marketing expenses with uncertain recovery periods.

This resulted in a deterioration of the liquidity ratio. According to the 2024 audit report, current liabilities exceeded current assets by approximately 6.9 billion won. This means the debt to be repaid within a year was nearly 7 billion won more than the assets that could be immediately converted into cash, and the auditor also flashed a warning light by pointing out 'uncertainty about going concern' as a key audit matter in the 6th (2024) audit report.

◆ Nasmedia with 23.2 billion won tied up... The aftermath of bankruptcy

The aftermath of the bankruptcy declaration is fierce. Digital advertising company Nasmedia, which invested 30 billion won in convertible bonds (CB) in BLACKHOLIC, took a direct hit. According to Nasmedia's public disclosure data, the un-repaid principal balance alone reaches 23.2 billion won as of the end of September 2025.

Initially, Nasmedia held a put option to claim early repayment until March 31, 2025, but due to the depletion of the company's liquidity, it failed to take effect, and the right expired as the maturity arrived. The court appointed a bankruptcy trustee and decided to receive debt claims until February 4 of next year, but considering the company's situation, recovering the principal is expected to be difficult.

BLACKHOLIC's bankruptcy is a case that demonstrates the limits of media commerce, showing that sustainable growth can be difficult with only 'marketing' without 'product strength'.