By Park Si-soo
SEOUL, May 19 (Sankyung Today) -- Massage chair maker Bodyfriend faces its biggest crisis since its founding in 2007. Revenue fell last year, and operating profit plummeted by 65% compared to the previous year.
The company lost its top spot in the home healthcare industry, ranked by revenue, to its rival Ceragem. Even worse, the two private equity firms that jointly acquired Bodyfriend in 2022 are embroiled in an internal battle over control, with each accusing the other of wrongdoing.
Bodyfriend, founded in 2007, had its founder and former chairman Cho Kyung-hee as the largest shareholder until 2014. In 2015, private equity firm VIG Partners acquired a controlling 43 percent stake. In July 2022, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called BF-Heart, jointly established by private equity firms Stonebridge Capital and Han&Brothers, became the new owner of Bodyfriend with a 46.3% stake. Since then, Stonebridge and Han&Brothers have co-managed Bodyfriend.
The partnership between the two private equity firms turned sour just over half a year later when Stonebridge filed a lawsuit against Han&Brothers' biggest shareholder and a Bodyfriend executive appointed by Han&Brothers, alleging their breach of trust and embezzlement.
Amidst the infighting, Bodyfriend's stagnation has continued.
The company, once the top player in the home healthcare industry with massage chairs as its main product, lost the top spot to Ceragem in 2021. Since then, the gap between the two companies has widened.
In 2022, Bodyfriend's sales fell by 11.7% from the previous year (591.3 billion won) to 52.2 billion won. Operating profit was 24.1 billion won, down 64.8% from 65.5 billion won the previous year. Last year, Ceragem posted record sales of 751 billion won, and its operating profit was 50.6 billion won, twice that of Bodyfriend.
In the first quarter (January-March) of this year, Bodyfriend posted sales of 97.1 billion won, down 38% from last year's first quarter (15.54 billion won), and its operating profit plummeted by more than 60% during the same period.
[저작권자ⓒ 산경투데이. 무단전재-재배포 금지]
출처 : 산경투데이(https://www.sankyungtoday.com)
Bodyfriend in Crisis: Revenue Plummets, Infighting Rages (sankyungtoday.com)
Bodyfriend in Crisis: Revenue Plummets, Infighting Rages
By Park Si-soo SEOUL, May 19 (Sankyung Today) -- Massage chair maker Bodyfriend faces its biggest crisis since its founding in 2007. Revenue felllas ...
www.sankyungtoday.com
