SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Chinese e-commerce platform Temu has been stepping up its preparations to directly enter the South Korean market since late last year, an industry source said Monday. PDD Holdings Inc.’s Temu is in the process of hiring Korean employees for human resources, administration, public relations, marketing and logistics functions, an [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s e-commerce giants are increasingly venturing into the luxury goods market, seeking new revenue streams amid a slowdown in industry growth over the past few years. According to industry sources, online retailer Kurly launched a luxury shopping platform in December 2024, offering 990 products from over 30 high-end brands, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s e-commerce sector saw a challenging 2024, with economic pressures leading to reduced consumer spending across platforms. Despite these headwinds and competition from Chinese e-commerce players like AliExpress and Temu, Coupang and SSG.com maintained strong customer loyalty, according to data released on January 26 by analytics firm IGAWorks. SSG.com [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Members of South Korea’s National Assembly sharply criticized Coupang Inc.’s founder Kim Bom-suk for his absence from a parliamentary hearing on January 21 focused on improving working conditions for the e-commerce giant’s delivery workers, particularly regarding late-night labor practices. The hearing, held by the Environment and Labor Committee, was attended [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Coupang, one of South Korea’s largest e-commerce companies, has admitted to maintaining an employment blacklist affecting over 16,000 individuals, following revelations by MBC in February 2024. This marks the first time the company has publicly acknowledged the controversial list, which allegedly barred reemployment of workers and even included journalists critical [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s home shopping industry is rapidly evolving its delivery services and diversifying business models to align with changing consumer trends, aiming to boost competitiveness and profitability through personalized services. Expanded Delivery Services Leading home shopping companies are enhancing their delivery systems through strategic partnerships with logistics firms. On January [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it has begun to sell its vehicles on Amazon.com, one year after the South Korean carmaker signed a strategic partnership with the U.S. retail giant. Starting Jan. 7 (local time), U.S. consumers can browse, order and finance any new Hyundai vehicle through a participating [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Shinsegae Group and China’s Alibaba Group have joined forces to form a strategic e-commerce alliance, a move that has drawn close attention from Coupang, South Korea’s market leader in online retail. The partnership, announced on January 6, could significantly alter the competitive dynamics of the e-commerce sector. Coupang’s senior [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — CJ Logistics, South Korea’s leading courier company, will begin offering seven-day delivery services starting January 5, 2025, a move expected to heighten competition in the nation’s e-commerce market. Previously, consumers faced delivery restrictions on Sundays and holidays, totaling about 70 non-delivery days per year. Only Coupang, with its proprietary logistics [...]
JEJU, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Jeju’s government-run food delivery app Mukkebi has achieved a milestone of over 10 billion won ($7.5 million) in cumulative transactions just two years after its launch in December 2022. According to the Jeju Provincial Government, as of December 23, 2024, the platform has registered 44,064 members and 3,352 partner restaurants. [...]