Discount retailers led by chains like Daiso and Chinese e-commerce platforms like AliExpress and Temu are aggressively hiring in South Korea. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Mar. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – While giants like E-Mart are trimming their workforces, a clutch of discount retailers led by chains like Daiso and Chinese e-commerce platforms like AliExpress and Temu are aggressively hiring in South Korea.
Their lure? Offering consumers unbeatable value for money on a wide range of merchandise.
According to figures released on Saturday by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, Daiso employed a record 12,349 people in the country last year. That exceeded its pre-pandemic peak of 12,225 in 2019.
Daiso’s payroll shrank initially after Covid-19 struck but has since rebounded as the chain relentlessly opens new outlets. Employee numbers dipped to 10,203 in 2021 before bouncing back to 11,372 last year. The store count reached 1,519 locations in 2022, up 13.4% from 1,339 just two years earlier.
The hiring spree appears linked to surging sales at Daiso’s ubiquitous stores. The FTC disclosed that average annual revenue per franchise outlet hit 1.65 billion won in 2022, up from 1.39 billion won in 2021 and 1.51 billion won in 2020.
Factoring out Daiso’s higher-volume company-owned flagships like its Myeong-dong and Hongdae outlets, the chain-wide average would be even higher. Analysts estimate unlisted Daiso likely breached 3 trillion won in total revenue for the first time in its history, after posting 2.95 trillion won in 2022.
The deep-discounting model is also fueling payroll growth at Chinese e-commerce rivals like Alibaba’s AliExpress and Temu as they rapidly expand their footprints in South Korea. AliExpress’ local workforce has grown so much that its Korean arm recently relocated from shared space to larger independent offices near Gangnam Station in Seoul.
To keep pace with soaring demand, AliExpress is hiring merchandise planners across fresh foods, fashion, beauty and other categories, as well as logistics staff. Temu is also reportedly staffing up its local unit ahead of a formal subsidiary launch.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
