Coupang
Coupang, Inc. (Korean: 쿠팡) is e-commerce company based in Seoul, South Korea and Seattle, WA and incorporated in Delaware, United States.[4][5] Founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, the company expanded to become the largest online marketplace in South Korea. Its expansion led the company to video streaming distribution after the launch of Coupang Play service. Coupang is often referred to as the "Amazon of South Korea", due to its position and corporate size in the South Korean online market.[6]
"Rocket Delivery" redirects here. For delivery of mail by rocket, see Rocket mail. For the food delivery service in Germany, see Delivery Hero.
Native name
쿠팡
- NYSE: CPNG (Class A)
- Russell 1000 component
1 July 2010 as Coupang Co., Ltd.
Seattle, Washington, United States.
- South Korea
- Taiwan
Bom Kim (CEO)
- Rocket Delivery (e-commerce)
- Rocket Fresh (grocery delivery)
- Coupang Eats (restaurant delivery)
- Coupang Play (streaming service)
- Coupang Pay (digital payments)
US$24.4 billion (2023)
US$473 million (2023)
US$1.36 billion (2023)
US$13.3 billion (2023)
US$4.09 billion (2023)
- SoftBank (26.7%)
- Bom Kim (10.1%)
c. 78,000 (2023)
Coupang Co., Ltd.
Overview[edit]
The first marketplace and largest online retailer in South Korea,[7] Coupang's annual revenue as of 2021 is US$18.4 billion.[8][9] The company's Rocket Delivery network provides same-day or next-day delivery of more than five million unique items.[10] Coupang claims that 99.6 percent of its orders are delivered within 24 hours.[11] 70% of Korean citizens live within 10 minutes of a Coupang logistic center.[12]
Coupang was headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, in the Songpa-gu District until 2022 when it relocated to Seattle in the US.[5] Coupang also has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Los Angeles and Mountain View.[13] It is incorporated in Delaware, United States.[4]
Coupang was founded by Bom Kim in 2010. A student of Harvard University, Kim started to study for his MBA at Harvard Business School but dropped out six months into the program.[14]
Kim registered Coupang as a limited liability company in the US, allowing to access US funding. In November 2018, Coupang received a US$2 billion investment from SoftBank.[15] Other major investors in Coupang include BlackRock and Fidelity.[16]
The company has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic with increased demand for online shopping.[17] In July 2020, Coupang acquired the assets of Singaporean streaming service HOOQ to form the nucleus of its streaming service named Coupang Play.[18]
Coupang had its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange on 11 March 2021.[17]
On 4 June 2021, Coupang announced that it had started trial operations in Japan.[19] However it pulled out of the country less than 2 years later due to low growth potential amid the dominance of Amazon and local player Rakuten.[20] On 8 July 2021, the company launched in Taiwan.[21]
On 18 December 2023, Coupang announced it would be acquiring online retailer Farfetch in a deal that would give Farfetch access to $500 million worth of capital. The deal comes as Farfetch faced potential administration, with previous talks with Swiss luxury group Richemont being terminated.[22]
Services[edit]
Rocket Delivery[edit]
Coupang is well known for its fast and efficient delivery system. Rocket Delivery is a signature service whereby items ordered before midnight will be delivered overnight by Coupang's own delivery personnel.[27] In July 2020, Coupang's Rocket Delivery staff was renamed from Coupangman to Coupangfriend (쿠팡친구), since the number of female delivery workers has increased, and to imply friendly service.[28]
Rocket Delivery service is free for the Coupang Rocket membership subscribers, for whom delivery is free for all Rocket Delivery tagged products.[29] Rocket Delivery is offered to non-subscribers if they purchase more than KRW4,990. It is estimated that 32% of Coupang users are subscribed.[29] 99.3% of Coupang Rocket Delivery orders are delivered within one day.[30]
Rocket Delivery service is possible via 200 warehouses that are approximately 20 million sq. ft across the country.[31] Coupang's logistic centers store approximately 5.3 million types of products and they are stored by an efficient storage system called Random Stow Algorithm.[32] About 1.7 million Rocket Delivery products are sent out from the logistic centers on a daily basis.[32]
Controversy[edit]
Worker wellbeing[edit]
Coupang has been involved in complaints by activists and families of workers who allegedly died from overwork. In April 2021 Kwon Young-gook, a lawyer and the co-chairman at the Committee for Coupang Workers' Human Rights and Health, said "Seven Coupang employees and two subcontractors have died of cardiovascular disorders, such as heart attack, for the past year. ... Out of the nine deaths, five are connected to overnight work as they passed away during or after night duty."[58][59] According to statistics published in the Korea Economic Daily, Coupang had recorded no work-accident deaths since its launch in 2011, as of the end of 2020.[60]
Coupang is not the only logistics and delivery business facing such complaints in 2021. According to the BBC, CJ Logistics and Hanjin Transportation are some of the multiple businesses that have been involved in the controversy, and workers at Lotte Global Logistics in Seoul went on strike.[61] In April 2021, the company introduced Coupang Care, a system that allows employees to take paid breaks and receive health care coaching.[60]
Item Winner system[edit]
There is a debate over Coupang's Item Winner system, which selects the cheapest product among the same products as the sole seller. There is criticism that sellers offering items for as low as one won can monopolize the market. According to Coupang's terms and conditions, this right is delegated to Coupang as soon as the product's image and trademark are posted. In the process, problems can arise because sellers can use other sellers' images, via Coupang's copyright-transfer agreements. In May 2021, the situation was reported to be under review by the Fair Trade Commission.[62]