Harvard Dropout’s Startup Loses Billions in South Korea Battle
- South Korea’s conglomerates are pushing harder into e-commerce
- Coupang now sells everything from organic food to electronics
The Honest Company’s Christopher Gavigan, Jessica Alba and Bom Kim, CEO of Coupang, pose for media during a press conference.
Photographer: Han Myung-Gu/WireImage via Getty Images
Coupang won over fans with personalized service for e-commerce in South Korea, picking up $1 billion of funding from Masayoshi Son along the way. Analysts are now questioning if that is enough as the nation’s powerful chaebol turn their resources to dominating online like they do in the physical world.
While Coupang’s sales are rising, that is coming at a massive cost as losses reached 638 billion won ($592 million) last year. Retailers backed by the SK and Lotte conglomerates are subsidizing web forays with money from their profitable brick-and-mortar outlets, crowding out Coupang and denying oxygen to the eight-year-old startup.