SEOUL, Apr. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — E-commerce is thriving in South Korea on the back of fast delivery and competitive pricing, but mounting losses by major operators are raising questions whether their business models are sustainable in the face of increasingly toughening competition, industry insiders said Monday. The e-commerce industry has seen explosive growth in [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Japanese software giant Softbank Group Corp.’s chairman, Masayoshi Son, a third-generation Korean-Japanese most widely known by his Korean name “Son Jeong-ui” here, has reportedly decided to invest US$2 billion in Coupang, leaving experts seeking an explanation as to Son’s great interest in the Korean e-commerce website. Meanwhile, other competing [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — Coupang said Wednesday it has attracted US$2 billion from Japan’s Softbank Group Corp., a move that could give a boost to South Korea’s top e-commerce company mired in mounting losses in recent years. The South Korean retailer said it will use investments from Softbank Vision Fund in innovating its [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The popular e-commerce company Coupang announced yesterday that it was initiating “Coupang Flex,” which will provide new jobs for those looking to perform deliveries for the company. “Coupang Flex” will allow applicants to freely select work dates that fit their personal schedule. Coupang explained this would enable applicants like [...]
SEOUL, April 16 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean online shopping site operators continued to report losses in 2017 amid fierce market competition, regulatory data showed Monday. Coupang Inc. suffered a combined net loss of 673.5 billion won (US$628.5 million) last year, up 20 percent from 561.8 billion won reported a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its sales jumped 40 percent on-year [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Coupang, South Korea’s No. 1 online marketplace, has come under fire for allegedly sacking nearly a tenth of its delivery staff, adding further woes to the money losing startup that won kudos for its bold investment in logistics, industry sources said Wednesday. On Tuesday, some 75 former and current [...]
SEOUL, May 31 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean online shopping giant Coupang is facing criticism over massive staff cuts in the wake of allegations of labor rights abuses that emerged yesterday. Coupang is widely known for its next day delivery service dubbed “Rocket Delivery”, but despite the popular policy that ships all items ordered before midnight [...]
SEOUL, April 14 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s online shopping site operators continued to report operating losses last year from a year earlier, as more market competition hurt their profitability, regulatory data showed Friday. Coupang Inc. suffered a combined operating loss of 560 billion won (US$490.8 million) in the January-December period of 2016 compared with [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Despite the ballooning volume of e-commerce, deficits for online shopping malls are also bloating with even a rough estimate pointing to over 1 trillion won (US$876.88 million) last year, industry officials said Tuesday. Industry records showed the country’s three leading social commerce sites — Coupang, Ticket Monster and WeMakePrice [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Social commerce companies are putting an end to competing each other with free delivery services as operating losses continue to soar. Coupang doubled the minimum purchase required for free delivery (Rocket Delivery) from 9,800 ($8.73) to 19,800 starting Tuesday. Rocket Delivery is the company’s ambitious service that offers delivery within [...]