Gmarket to onboard 100 sellers leaving TMON, WeMakePrice

[Courtesy of Gmarket Inc.]

South Korea’s e-commerce platform Gmarket Inc. decided to bring in around 100 Korean sellers who are affected by recent massive settlement delays at TMON and WeMakePrice, Singapore-based multinational e-commerce company Qoo10 Pte.’s two cash-strapped e-commerce platforms, to minimize disruptions in the e-commerce market and attract competitive sellers to its platform.

According to industry sources on Thursday, Gmarket plans to onboard approximately 100 sellers who are currently engaged in direct overseas sales on TMON and WeMakePrice. The Korea SMEs & Startups Agency (KOSME) has been supporting sellers operating on platforms such as Gmarket, Qoo10, Shopee Pte., and eBay Japan, but the activities of more than 100 companies operating under the Qoo10 group moving forward remains uncertain following recent events.

KOSME recently identified potential platforms for these sellers, and Gmarket expressed its willingness to accept all of them onto its platform, according to sources. The exact number of sellers Gmarket will take in will depend on how events develop as well as sellers‘ intentions.

Gmarket’s proactive stance on accepting Qoo10 sellers is attributed to concerns about the potential ripple effects of the incident at TMON and WeMakePrice on the Korean e-commerce market. Platforms such as TMON, WeMakePrice, G-market, and Naver Shopping operate primarily as an open market, connecting sellers and buyers rather than directly purchasing and selling products. Many sellers list their products on multiple platforms and are facing financial difficulties or bankruptcy if they are impacted by recent events at Qoo10 Pte. This could also weaken the competitiveness of other open markets.

Gmarket’s move can also be seen as an effort to attract competitive overseas direct sellers from Qoo10. Overseas direct selling requires extensive knowledge of foreign trends and consumer behavior, making it more demanding. Acquiring Qoo10 Group sellers could reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC) as open markets serve both consumers and sellers.

Overseas direct-selling, also known as reverse direct-buying, is emerging as a new challenge for open markets. The direct-buying market has grown rapidly while the direct-selling market has contracted, although it is now showing signs of recovery.

According to Statistics Korea, the Korean reverse direct-buying market in the first half of 2024 totaled 864.1 billion won ($628.99 million), an 11 percent increase from the same period a year ago. This growth is attributed to the continued global popularity of Korean pop culture and the support from various global e-commerce giants, such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., to help Korean sellers expand overseas.

Gmarket has been engaged in the overseas direct-selling business via its ‘Global Shop’ since 2006, which ships to over 80 territories, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and China.

About 25,000 of the estimated 300,000 Gmarket sellers participate in the Global Shop, with Gmarket promoting its ability to alleviate sellers’ difficulties with language barriers, international shipping, and settlements.

Other Korean open markets are also competing to attract sellers leaving TMON and WeMakePrice.

11Street Co. is offering benefits to sellers who have continued delivering products despite the settlement issues at the two platforms, even labeling them as ‘good companies’ and promoting them on its main homepage banner. For their part, Homeplus Online and Lotte ON are running promotions that waive sales commissions for new sellers joining their platforms.