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48 hours. That’s how long it took from the first meeting with BQ, which operates the home appliance commerce platform Test Valley, to the investment decision. (Even though our BASS structure allows for quick decisions without unnecessary paperwork or procedures, which is one of our characteristics,) this was an exceptionally fast process. A clear value proposition, solid fundamentals, the CEO’s deep and earnest reflection on the business, ‘crazy’ execution, and teamwork all contributed to a rapid internal consensus.
Korea is home to Samsung and LG, the top two global home appliance companies, and boasts the most advanced e-commerce infrastructure—yet, strangely enough, there has been hardly any innovation in the home appliance e-commerce space. Maybe it's because there haven’t really been any major pain points, given the combination of quality products and robust e-commerce infrastructure.
But CEO Hong Sol had a different viewpoint. The key words here are ‘generation’ and ‘experience’. For gen-Z, who are emerging as the new core consumer group, having opportunities for diverse experiences is crucial—yet the home appliance market puts all its focus on price, brand, and specs (especially in e-commerce), making actual experiences structurally difficult. Since these are high-priced consumer goods, gen-Z customers don’t feel like touching a product a couple of times in-store counts as a true experience, and hesitate to make big purchases easily. This shows that the purchase journey, which used to seem unproblematic, is now starting to fall behind the changing trends of the times.
Test Valley’s idea is that by redesigning home appliance e-commerce with ‘experience’ at the center from the consumer’s perspective, it can create an e-commerce platform that delivers unique value in a vertical commerce market that is already big enough.
They started by offering a trial service that lets you use a product for a month and return it easily, based on a type of installment called BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later). Customers who bought after the trial were highly satisfied, while those who returned products were glad they could save a lump sum of money. Returned products are cleaned and resold through a ‘Renew’ category, which opened up the market to price-sensitive customers as well. Test Valley went viral as a ‘fresh site for new home appliance purchase experiences’, fueling a virtuous cycle of accelerating growth in traffic, SKUs, and transaction volume. Since investment, Test Valley has maintained “steady and explosive” growth—achieving more than 10x growth in just one year, now ranking among the fastest-growing e-commerce platforms. Even the massive operational challenges that can come with rapid growth haven’t been a big obstacle.
CEO Hong Sol has been incredibly impressive from the very beginning up to now.
Talk with him for just 30 minutes and you’ll sense a unique presence—something born from his strong self-belief, determination for success, and the hard work and deep expertise he brings to back it up. (Just like an ‘Iron Man’ who’s disappointed that during COVID-19 he can only do 100 push-ups daily, he is both mentally and physically unshakable and resolute!) If it weren’t for the ever-energetic CEO Hong Sol, this investment would have been tough. The same goes for the team’s achievements so far.
We’re all the more excited for the future of BQ as it grows into a platform that takes care of every home appliance experience and brings the potential of vertical commerce to life.
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