Coupang is facing increasing pressure from AliExpress’s expanding presence in the Korean market as the Chinese e-commerce firm actively seeks partnerships with influential Korean entities to broaden its product range, including food, beverages, and daily necessities, according to industry officials on Friday. Competition is heating up between the Korean e-commerce giant and its Chinese counterpart, after CJ CheilJedang, the largest processed food brand here, started selling its flagship Bibigo-branded foods and instant cooked rice on AliExpress as of Thursday. This came shortly after AliExpress launched its fresh food delivery business here last week. The Chinese firm is making a bigger bet on the Korean market, viewing it as a test-bed before its full-fledged expansion into other Asian territories .AliExpress’s partnership with CJ CheilJedang has especially surprised the industry. This is because the CJ affiliate suspended product supplies to Coupang since November 2022, following disagreements between both parties regarding the unit price of supplied items. The food business operator has since discontinued its ties with Coupang, and found a new retail channel at AliExpress. The Chinese online shopping platform held a grand advertising campaign for products from CJ CheilJedang, offering a discount of up to 70 percent for the firm’s popular food products, such as Bibigo’s frozen dumpling and canned ham, Spam.
AliExpress has expanded its partnerships by collaborating with Lotte Chilsung Beverage for the sale of a diverse range of beverages. Additionally, customers now have easy access to cosmetics and household products manufactured by LG Household & Health Care through the platform .Retail industry officials here expressed concerns that AliExpress’s aggressive expansion will pose growing threats not only to Coupang but also to traditional online shopping channels.“ Despite lingering concerns over the sale of fake products on AliExpress, Korean customers have shown significant interest in the platform due to its competitive pricing,” an official at a retailer said. “AliExpress’s ascent is expected to benefit customers by introducing competition to the market, potentially curbing Coupang’s ever-expanding market dominance in Korea .”If AliExpress further expands its presence and increases its influence in Korea, food firms may not feel compelled to rely solely on Coupang, the official added.“ Instead, they will gain a better negotiating position when signing product supply deals with the dominant e-commerce player, due to the looming threat posed by AliExpress.”Another official from the industry also expected AliExpress to pose a bigger threat to local players. “After AliExpress opened the K-venue on its sales platform, the company is on track to attract more local brands by providing them with special benefits of charging no sales commissions,” the official said. “The offer is very attractive from the perspective of potential sellers, most of whom are also paying increasing 스포츠토토존 attention to AliExpress’s growing popularity among local customers.”