The size of the market is crucial in business. Unfortunately, there is no precise data available to accurately assess the size of the “brand e-commerce operations agency” market we operate in. However, we can gauge how far our company can go in this business model by referencing the industry leaders. Of course, the market will not wait for us to reach the level of the current industry leaders. We must undergo numerous changes to survive and eventually grow.
As far as I know, the largest company in South Korea had around 150 employees and achieved an annual revenue of about 150 billion KRW in 2022. I envy the fact that they handle many fashion brands from conglomerates such as Samsung, LG, and Kolon. If we secure just one brand from a conglomerate, we must build trust with other brands within the group through seamless operations and expertise. Additionally, I have identified two agencies with approximately 100 employees each in this industry. Therefore, to be among the top three in the domestic industry, we need to achieve a scale where each employee brings in an average of 3 million KRW, covering monthly personnel expenses of 300 million KRW. We still have a long way to go.
The largest company in the global industry that I know of has a market capitalization of about 330 billion KRW and is listed on the NASDAQ and Hong Kong stock exchanges. It has around 7,000 employees and an annual revenue of approximately 1.5 trillion KRW. Although it is a Chinese company, it has a small branch in South Korea. The e-commerce platforms in China are highly advanced, making it almost impossible for brands to operate e-commerce independently. Despite the overseas market share being insignificant, they were able to achieve such a scale due to the vast Chinese market. I lived in China for over two years and even set up an office in Shenzhen. However, I feel that it is not easy for us to have a competitive edge in the Chinese market compared to local companies.
In this way, while there are competent agencies in the brand e-commerce operations industry in each country, there is still no significant presence crossing borders. During my time as the APAC manager in my previous job, I collaborated with e-commerce agencies in various countries, including South Korea. Among them, there were no contracts with agencies in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, or Indonesia. I believe this is an area where our e-commerce business can make an impact. It involves opening flagship stores not only on Korean platforms like Naver and Coupang but also in the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. To achieve that, we will be venturing abroad again. In June, it will be Malaysia.
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