Yongin's Jo-Ah-Yong-in Store Achieves 100 Million Won in Sales Four Months After Opening

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Yongin Special City announced on the 16th that the Jo-Ah-Yong-in Store, which sells products featuring the Yongin city character 'Jo-Ah-Yong,' has achieved sales of 100 million won (excluding value-added tax).

This was accomplished just four months after the store opened.

The 'Jo-Ah-Yong-in Store' opened on April 4 at Giheung Station as a bridgehead for selling Jo-Ah-Yong merchandise.

In particular, it has been operating under commission to the Yongin Community Self-Reliance Center to provide employment opportunities for socially disadvantaged groups.

The popularity of Jo-Ah-Yong was already evident when 11 products including key ring figurines, eco bags, acrylic key rings, and aprons sold out within just five days of the store's opening.

Despite initially stocking inventory for approximately three months, the unexpected popularity quickly depleted supplies.

Over the past four months, acrylic key rings have been the top-selling product with 1,162 units sold.

Following closely are key ring figurines (820 units), mugs (735 units), character ballpoint pens (676 units), and phone grips (580 units).

The city analyzes that the key to attracting significant interest lies in offering character products at lower prices than those sold by private companies such as Kakao and Line, along with the fact that all proceeds are used for employment and startup support for vulnerable populations in Yongin.

Additionally, the store's strong sales performance has been driven by ▲products reflecting citizens' opinions such as mask straps and stamps ▲seasonal products for holidays like Children's Day and Parents' Day ▲diverse designs including the Hwana-Yong collection ▲eco-friendly products utilizing natural cotton fabric and recycled plastic.

The city plans to expand its product lineup to reflect citizens' requests.

A city official stated, "Thanks to the interest and support of 1.1 million citizens, Jo-Ah-Yong merchandise was able to achieve 100 million won in sales in just four months," and added, "We hope for continued interest and support for the Jo-Ah-Yong-in Store, where all proceeds are used for vulnerable populations."

Meanwhile, Jo-Ah-Yong is a Yongin city character that won the Grand Prize in the Regional Category at the 4th Our Neighborhood Character Awards.

The name 'Jo-Ah-Yong' was created by taking the character 'Yong (龍)' from the city's name 'Yongin' and inspired by the 'Like' feature used on social media platforms such as Facebook.

First created in 2016, the character underwent a redesign in 2019 to become even more adorable and approachable.

In an event where the city created and distributed Jo-Ah-Yong Kakao Talk emoticons, 200,000 units were distributed in 8 minutes in 2021, and 250,000 units this year were distributed in 19 minutes.