‘Eyewear’s First Listing’: Taeseok Optical Passes KOSDAQ Preliminary Review Just a Month After Filing [fn Market Watch]

[Financial News] Eyewear specialist Taeseok Optical is accelerating its KOSDAQ listing process. The company has rapidly grown revenue through an asset-light business model focused on brand planning and product development rather than its own production facilities. In the IPO process, attention is focused on how much its brand-management capabilities, alongside its top-line growth, will be reflected in its corporate valuation.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 13th, Taeseok Optical received approval that day from the Korea Exchange for its preliminary KOSDAQ listing review. The approval came about a month after it filed for review on September 14. The company said this was the fastest approval among companies pursuing KOSDAQ listings this year. Shinhan Investment & Securities and Daishin Securities are the joint lead managers.
Founded in 2015, Taeseok Optical handles everything from identifying eyewear brands to product planning, design, production management and sales data analysis. Manufacturing is outsourced to external partners, while core functions such as brand development and quality control are kept in-house. Its ability to expand its product range in response to market demand while reducing the burden of investing in large-scale production facilities is seen as a strength.
The company’s revenue rose from 17.3 billion won in 2023 to 46 billion won in 2024 and 79.8 billion won last year. That represents growth of about 4.6 times over two years.
It also recorded revenue of 52.4 billion won in the first half of this year. The company says a strategy of expanding products that have gained market traction into follow-up products and new brands, rather than relying on a particular hit product, has supported its top-line growth.
In the IPO market, a key question is whether Taeseok Optical’s business model can be valued more as a brand-management platform than as a traditional eyewear manufacturer.
An industry source noted, "The relatively low burden of investing in production facilities is an advantage, but the ability to continually identify brands and proof of profitability are expected to be key factors in determining the company’s valuation." 
The IB industry is watching for the operating margin and sales mix by brand to be presented in the upcoming securities registration statement, as well as the basis for calculating the expected offering price. Taeseok Optical plans to proceed with a full-scale public offering after completing subsequent steps, including filing the registration statement.
The domestic eyewear market, meanwhile, is also seeing a trend in which brand planning, design and distribution strategy—not manufacturing competitiveness—determine corporate value. Gentle Monster is a prominent example. Its brand revenue in 2024 was 615 billion won, accounting for a substantial portion of the 789.1 billion won in consolidated revenue reported by its operator, IICOMBINED. 
Unlike Gentle Monster, Taeseok Optical is growing its business by minimizing its own production facilities and identifying and nurturing multiple brands. Its revenue of 79.8 billion won last year is far below that of the company behind Gentle Monster, but analysts say its growth potential stands out, given that revenue has increased 4.6-fold over the past two years. 


[email protected] Kim Kyung-a Reporter