Deep Eye (CEOs Kim Se-min and Kim Myung-sup), the ESTsoft subsidiary that operates the real-time virtual fitting eyewear store ROUNZ, announced on the 24th that it has unified its corporate name with its service name as 'ROUNZ' and appointed Kim Myung-sup as co-CEO.
The name change was planned from the start of the business. ESTsoft acquired an online eyewear store in 2017 and entered the commerce business with the aim of bringing a new glasses-buying experience to the eyewear service market through deep learning technology. It then planned to unify the corporate and service names once its ROUNZ service had established itself in the market and aggressive branding was called for.
ROUNZ has built recognition by changing how consumers buy glasses. Offering an experience of trying on glasses virtually in a mobile app at a level almost identical to reality, it has changed the assumption that consumers must visit an optician in person.
In the process, sales have doubled every year. The rate at which virtual try-ons lead to purchases has risen into double digits, and the return rate has fallen to single digits. In March it was selected as a leading example of augmented reality (AR) service on Apple Korea's website — the only Korean company chosen — recognition of the innovation in its service.
ROUNZ recently released a brand video aimed at the MZ generation. With branding activity picking up speed at the same time, the company judged this the ideal moment for the name change. Taking the name change as its starting point, ROUNZ plans to develop a new O2O (online-to-offline) service connecting its existing online service with 10,000 opticians nationwide.
Newly appointed co-CEO Kim Myung-sup previously worked at ROUNZ's parent ESTsoft and at Zum Internet. An O2O business specialist, he had been leading that business at Deep Eye as well. With Kim Myung-sup taking the position that ESTsoft CEO Chung Sang-won had held concurrently, ROUNZ moves to a co-CEO structure under Kim Se-min and Kim Myung-sup.
ROUNZ CEO Kim Myung-sup said: "For decades it has been taken entirely for granted that buying glasses means going to a nearby optician and trying them on in person," adding, "ROUNZ has created a new way of buying — virtual fitting — with world-leading augmented reality technology, and is leading innovation in the eyewear industry." He continued: "Taking this name change as our starting point, we will grow ROUNZ into a service the world genuinely needs: the brand people think of first when they need glasses, and beyond that a business model that helps both consumers and suppliers."
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