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#Case Study
Coupang
South Korea’s Amazon
Updated: 2023.03.07
3 min read · Advanced
material_image
Coupang

Coupang, the biggest online retailer in South Korea, is often compared to Amazon. Founded in 2010 by Korean-American billionaire Bom Kim as a Groupon-like platform, the company pivoted [1] to an e-commerce marketplace and has since grown exponentially [2], making a name for itself primarily through same-day and next-day delivery. In 2014, Coupang raised $300 million, largely from US investors, followed by a $3 billion cash injection [3] from SoftBank in 2015 and 2018. The company ranked second place on the 2020 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, and debuted on the New York Stock Exchange the next year, wherein its stock price surged 40%.

A central component of Coupang’s appeal is its speed. The company claims that 99.3% of the orders are delivered within 24 hours from purchase, and their warehouses, or “fulfillment centers,” are so ubiquitous that allegedly 70% of South Koreans live within seven miles of one. In 2019, they introduced Dawn Delivery, where orders made before midnight were guaranteed to be delivered by 7 am.

Like Amazon, Coupang has come to rely heavily on the Rocket Wow Membership, their equivalent of Amazon Prime. For under $3 a month, Rocket Wow subscribers can get fast delivery and special offers, such as exclusive discounts on certain products. In part due to its focus on low-cost service, the company was losing money for years since the launch of Rocket Delivery in 2014, before it turned a profit for the first time in the third quarter of 2022, logging $90.7 million in net income, a dramatic turnaround from previous year’s $324 million in net loss.

In recent years, Coupang has become much more than an e-commerce company, although it does not have any physical stores like Amazon. It launched Coupang Play, a content streaming service, and shortly after, Coupang Logistics, aiming to distribute packages not only for Coupang but for other e-commerce companies. According to Philip Lee, a researcher, the company’s foray [4] into new industries is not over. “I think [Coupang] will evolve into every industry, even travel and car rental,” Lee said in an interview with Modern Retail. The question remains of which industries, and which foreign markets, if any, Coupang will enter in the future.

한국의 아마존, 쿠팡

쿠팡은 대한민국 최대의 온라인 소매업체로, 종종 아마존과 비교되곤 합니다. 2010년 한국계 미국인 대부호 김범석씨가 설립한 이 회사는 (쿠폰을 발급하는) 미국의 그루폰과 비슷한 플랫폼으로 시작해 전자상거래로 사업 방향을 틀었고, 당일이나 다음날 배송 서비스로 유명해 지면서 기하급수적으로 성장했습니다. 2014년 쿠팡은 미국 투자자들을 중심으로 3억 달러를 조달했으며 뒤이어 2015년과 2018년에는 소프트뱅크로부터 30억 달러의 현금을 투자 받았습니다. 이 회사는 2020년 CNBC가 선정한 “시장에 파장을 일으킨 50개 회사 목록”에서 2위를 차지했으며, 이듬해 뉴욕 증권거래소 데뷔와 함께 주가는 40퍼센트 폭등했습니다.

쿠팡 인기의 핵심 요소는 한마디로 속도입니다. 이 회사는 주문의 99.3퍼센트가 구매 후 24시간 이내에 배달되며, 그들의 물류창고, 즉 주문처리센터는 거의 어디에나 있어서 한국인의 70퍼센트가 창고에서 7마일 이내에 거주하고 있다고 합니다. 2019년에는 자정 전에 주문한 것은 오전 7시까지 배달을 보장하는 새벽배송을 도입했습니다.

아마존과 마찬가지로, 쿠팡은 아마존 프라임에 해당하는 “로켓 와우 멤버십”에 크게 의존하고 있습니다. 로켓 와우 회원들은 월 3달러 미만의 회비만 내면 빠른 배송과 일부 제품에 대한 독점 할인과 같은 특별 혜택을 받을 수 있습니다. 부분적으로 저가 서비스에 초점을 맞춘 것 때문에 쿠팡은 2014년 로켓배송 출시 이후 수년간 적자를 내고 있다가 2022년 3분기에 처음으로 순이익 9천 70만 달러를 기록했는데, 이는 전년의 3억 2천 4백만 달러에 이르는 순손실에서 극적인 반전을 보인 것입니다.

아직은 아마존 같은 실물 매장은 갖추고 있지 않지만, 쿠팡은 최근 몇 년간 단순 전자상거래업체 이상으로 변신하고 있습니다. 이 회사는 콘텐츠 스트리밍 서비스인 “쿠팡플레이”에 이어, 쿠팡 뿐 아니라 다른 전자상거래업체를 위한 배달서비스를 겨냥한 “쿠팡로지스틱스”를 선보였습니다. 시장분석가 필립 리에 따르면, 쿠팡은 계속하여 새로운 산업분야로 진출할 계획이라고 합니다. 리는 “모던리테일”과의 인터뷰에서 "저는 [쿠팡이] 모든 산업, 심지어 여행업과 렌터카 분야로까지 뻗쳐 나갈 것이라고 생각합니다." 라고 말했습니다. 앞으로 쿠팡이 어떤 산업, 어떤 해외 시장으로 진출할지는 여전히 의문으로 남아 있습니다.

Discussion Questions
Q1
In your own words, please briefly summarize the article.
여러분의 언어로 교재를 간단히 요약해 주세요.
Q2
What part of the reading resonated with you most?
이번 교재에서 가장 공감하는 내용은 무엇인가요?
Q3
Have you heard of Coupang.com? Do you use their services?
쿠팡에 대해 들어보셨나요? 쿠팡의 서비스를 이용하시나요?
Q4
Do you find it surprising that Coupang made to the CNBC Disruptor 50 list?
쿠팡이 CNBC 디스럽터 50에 선정된 것이 놀랍다고 생각하시나요?
Q5
How important is the delivery “speed” to you when choosing an online retailer?
온라인 쇼핑몰을 선택할 때 배송 '속도'를 얼마나 중요하게 생각하시나요?
Q6
How does Coupang compare to other major players in the industry, such as Alibaba and Amazon?
쿠팡은 알리바바, 아마존과 같은 업계 주요 업체들과 어떻게 비교하나요?
Q7
How could Coupang's expansion into content streaming services, logistics, and other areas impact its competitiveness in the e-commerce market?
쿠팡이 콘텐츠 스트리밍 서비스, 물류 및 기타 영역으로 확장하는 것이 이커머스 시장에서의 경쟁력에 어떤 영향을 미칠 수 있을까요?
Q8
Will you invest in Coupang? Why or why not?
쿠팡에 투자하시겠습니까? 왜 그렇나요, 혹은 왜 그렇지 않나요?
Q9
If you have a question or questions that you'd like to discuss during your class, please write them down.
궁금한 점이 있거나 수업 중에 얘기해 보고 싶은 질문이 있으면 적어주세요.
Expressions
pivot
the action or process of turning around to adapt and improve
Ví dụ
1

After realizing how much more work she would have to put in, this semester has been a pivotal point for her.

Ví dụ
2

The idea that everyone deserves equal moral value is a pivot from the idea of class that prevailed centuries ago.

exponentially
rising or expanding at a steady and usually rapid rate:
Ví dụ
1

The problem of data loss is growing exponentially.

Ví dụ
2

Security threats are growing exponentially year after year.

inject
to introduce something into a situation as a factor
Ví dụ
1

The new CEO wants to inject fresh ideas and energy into the company to boost growth.

Ví dụ
2

Apart from injecting more cash, the company couldn’t do much to save the project.

foray
to go into something, sometimes suddenly; become involved
Ví dụ
1

My first foray into journalism was during my first college semester.

Ví dụ
2

We made a quick foray into the city for gas before returning to the road.

본 교재는 당사 편집진이 제작하는 링글의 자산으로 저작권법에 의해 보호됩니다. 링글 플랫폼 외에서 자료를 활용하시는 경우 당사와 사전 협의가 필요합니다.

Coupang, the biggest online retailer in South Korea, is often compared to Amazon. Founded in 2010 by Korean-American billionaire Bom Kim as a Groupon-like platform, the company pivoted [1] to an e-commerce marketplace and has since grown exponentially [2], making a name for itself primarily through same-day and next-day delivery. In 2014, Coupang raised $300 million, largely from US investors, followed by a $3 billion cash injection [3] from SoftBank in 2015 and 2018. The company ranked second place on the 2020 CNBC Disruptor 50 list, and debuted on the New York Stock Exchange the next year, wherein its stock price surged 40%.

A central component of Coupang’s appeal is its speed. The company claims that 99.3% of the orders are delivered within 24 hours from purchase, and their warehouses, or “fulfillment centers,” are so ubiquitous that allegedly 70% of South Koreans live within seven miles of one. In 2019, they introduced Dawn Delivery, where orders made before midnight were guaranteed to be delivered by 7 am.

Like Amazon, Coupang has come to rely heavily on the Rocket Wow Membership, their equivalent of Amazon Prime. For under $3 a month, Rocket Wow subscribers can get fast delivery and special offers, such as exclusive discounts on certain products. In part due to its focus on low-cost service, the company was losing money for years since the launch of Rocket Delivery in 2014, before it turned a profit for the first time in the third quarter of 2022, logging $90.7 million in net income, a dramatic turnaround from previous year’s $324 million in net loss.

In recent years, Coupang has become much more than an e-commerce company, although it does not have any physical stores like Amazon. It launched Coupang Play, a content streaming service, and shortly after, Coupang Logistics, aiming to distribute packages not only for Coupang but for other e-commerce companies. According to Philip Lee, a researcher, the company’s foray [4] into new industries is not over. “I think [Coupang] will evolve into every industry, even travel and car rental,” Lee said in an interview with Modern Retail. The question remains of which industries, and which foreign markets, if any, Coupang will enter in the future.

*This material is designed for the exclusive use of Ringle students on the Ringle platform.