Qoo10 buys Korean department store AK’s e-commerce unit

Southeast Asia-based e-commerce platform Qoo10 Pte. has signed an agreement to acquire South Korean department store chain AK Plaza’s online shopping affiliate AK Mall for 510 million won ($377,778), AK Holdings Inc. said on Wednesday.

AK Holdings’ e-commerce business, led by AK Mall, posted 37 billion won in revenue with 48.1 billion won in total assets last year.

The strategic partnership between Qoo10 and AK Plaza will strengthen the companies’ online businesses by helping Korean manufacturers’ global expansion, Qoo10’s Korean subsidiary Interpark Commerce Co. said.

Through the partnership, Qoo10 aims to expand the global sales of its products including those of the Korean department store chain.  

AK Plaza will focus on its core business, offline shopping malls, while accelerating its department store product sales via Qoo10 and Interpark Commerce.

“The partnership between AK Mall and Qoo10 will solidify Interpark Commerce’s position in the global online market and increase sales opportunities for domestic and overseas manufacturers,” said Interpark Commerce Chief Executive Kim Dong-shik.

Qoo10 was established by Ku Young Bae, who pioneered the Korean e-commerce market with the launch of Interpark in 1995. He founded another Korean online shopping platform GMarket in 2000 and sold it to US e-commerce giant eBay in 2009.

In 2010, Ku shifted his focus to other Asian markets due to a 10-year reentry ban under an agreement with eBay. He founded Qoo10 in Singapore and Japan and set up its local platforms in Southeast Asia, China and India.

As the 10-year ban expired, Qoo10 acquired Korean e-commerce operators such as TMON Inc., Interpark Corp. and WeMakePrice Inc. 

Last month, it announced the acquisition of US online marketplace Wish for $173 million from Nasdaq-listed ContextLogic Inc. to build its presence in the US and Europe.

Interpark launched an online shopping platform linked to Qoo10’s overseas sales channel earlier this week. The new platform will sell AK Mall’s products.

AK Mall’s products will be exported to Southeast Asia, the US and Europe via platforms of Qoo10 and Wish. Qoo10’s logistics unit Qxpress Pte. will be responsible for the distribution and delivery of the products in Korea and overseas.

Qoo10’s competitiveness in e-commerce, its networks across around 200 countries and its logistics capabilities will provide new opportunities for leading brands and manufacturers, a retail industry source said.

Write to Ji-Yoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.