[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Chinese massage chair company Nuhas (CEO Kim Taek) is at a crossroads for survival after recording deficits for two consecutive years.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 25th, Nuhas’ operating profit last year was -5.9 billion won, following the previous year’s -4 billion won, recording an operating loss for the second consecutive year. Net income for the period was also -6 billion won, following the previous year’s -3.4 billion won, recording a net loss for the second consecutive year.
However, sales grew by about 40% from 30.6 billion won in 2022 to 42.8 billion won in 2023. Advertising and publicity expenses were increased by about 50% from the previous year to 6 billion won. It is analyzed that advertising expenses were excessively executed to overcome the worsening management situation.
Salary expenses amounted to 4.5 billion won, and sales promotion expenses amounted to about 500 million won.
Last year, the research and development expenses were only 270 million won. This is in comparison to the annual research and development expenses of Korean massage chair companies, which amount to over 20 billion won.
Short-term borrowings also amounted to a whopping 9.4 billion won, while donations amounted to only 16 million won.
Nuhas was established in July 2019 with the main purpose of selling massage chairs. Currently, Fancy Homes Investment holds 100% of the shares. Fancy Homes Investment Limited is an investment corporation established in Hong Kong by Henglin Home Furnishing Co., Ltd., a Chinese office furniture company. Although it is doing business in Korea, it is effectively a Chinese company.
An official from the massage chair industry explained, "Not only is Nuhas being investigated by the prosecution on charges of secretly leaking the technology and designs of a leading domestic healthcare company B to China and releasing products there, but it has also been criticized by the industry for disrupting market order by selling similar products." He added, "If consumers suffer damages due to Nuhas' worsening management, there are concerns that this will have a negative impact on the entire market."
Another healthcare company official said, "I heard that the capital impairment is serious due to the deterioration of management performance," and "normal business processes such as product shipment, delivery, and after-sales service are not being carried out cleanly."
CEO Nuhas said, "I will be leaving the company at the end of April, so this is not something I can answer," and added, "All prosecution investigation cases have been dismissed, but I understand that Company B has appealed to the prosecution."
A B Company official said, "We just learned that Nuhas' representative has resigned," and "We have filed an objection to the prosecution's decision not to indict, and the case has currently been assigned to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office."
We tried to hear Nuhas' position through various methods, including contacting the main number, customer center, and product planning team, but no one responded.