[Asia Exclusive] "Aiming for 1.2 Billion KRW Daily Sales This Year" Growth Rocket Dan Oasis Market

Interview with Choi Woo-sik, CEO of Oasis
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Choi Woosik, CEO of Oasis Market, which operates the online dawn delivery service Oasis Market, is being interviewed on the 10th at the Oasis Market logistics center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
Seongnam=Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

[Interview = Asia Economy Myung Jin-gyu, Head of Consumer Economy Department, Summary = Cha Min-young, Reporter] "We are aiming for daily sales of 1.2 billion KRW in the second half of this year, and a smooth achievement is expected."

Oasis Market, an emerging e-commerce powerhouse in the 23 trillion KRW Korean fresh food market, has tightened its shoelaces. The target number of orders by the end of December this year is over four times the current amount, reaching about 25,000 orders per day. The daily sales target is 1.2 billion KRW. To quickly handle the increased orders, the company expanded its Seongnam logistics center last year and reorganized its IT-based logistics system. Oasis Market, the only fresh food delivery service provider that does not operate at a loss, was fully prepared to engage in a fierce race throughout this year.

On the 10th, at the headquarters located in Jungwon-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, CEO Choi Woo-sik of Oasis was asked about this year’s targets and gave the figure of 1.2 billion KRW in daily sales. Currently, Oasis Market’s daily sales are about 270 million KRW, so the business goal for this year is more than four times that amount. Oasis Market’s sales have shown rapid growth every year, with 78.7 billion KRW in 2017, 111.1 billion KRW in 2018, and 170.8 billion KRW in 2019 (estimated by securities firms).

Oasis Market is an e-commerce business operated by Oasis Co., Ltd., providing fresh food "dawn delivery" services. Although it has only been a year and a half since its launch in August 2018, its growth rate has been steep. With strong price competitiveness, it threatens not only competitors like Market Kurly and Hello Nature but also large retailers. While most fresh food delivery companies operate at a loss, Oasis Market is the only one maintaining operating profits. The secret to its success lies in the solid foundation based on the Consumer Cooperative established in 2011. Additionally, the IT development capabilities of its parent company, GeoSoft, played a crucial role. GeoSoft, an IT technology developer with 20 years of experience, developed a logistics system optimized for Oasis Market. This greatly contributed to Oasis, which was previously focused on offline direct sales stores, quickly establishing itself in the e-commerce market.

Choi Woo-sik, CEO of Oasis, is being interviewed on the 10th at the Oasis Market logistics center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. / Seongnam = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

- What kinds of IT technologies are used compared to competitors?

▲ To establish a distribution system for fresh food, a considerable amount of IT technology is required, including delivery tracking, inventory management systems, and picking efficiency systems. Our parent company, GeoSoft, developed an inventory tracking program that maintains optimal stock levels while enabling rapid movement of products from shelves to packaging zones. This program improved the efficiency of on-site staff by more than 30%. Since fresh inventory is prone to spoilage, maintaining an appropriate stock level is critical, as overstock leads directly to inventory disposal. This issue was also resolved by minimizing unnecessary inventory disposal through the logistics system. The workload of packaging staff is also recorded in real-time in a database (DB), allowing us to monitor work efficiency by task and strengthen crisis response capabilities to proactively handle sudden sales order increases during peak seasons like the Lunar New Year.

The delivery tracking system and the database of customer complaint types on the customer bulletin board have also been very helpful. In fact, the customer complaint rate has improved to less than 1%, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction. Additionally, various IT technologies are applied, such as the moving delivery cart system, where delivery carts automatically follow workers, and the customer bulletin board chatbot system, where an AI robot automatically responds to inquiries posted by customers.

Choi Wooshik, CEO of Oasis, is working on logistics at the Oasis Market logistics center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 10th. / Seongnam = Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

- Oasis Market is a rare profitable company among fresh food delivery firms. What is the secret?

▲ Although it is difficult to make a profit in this structure, we are sometimes criticized for conservative management, but it is somewhat different. We believe we are simply adhering to sound management principles. Through this process, we contribute to society by creating jobs through employee recruitment, build a healthy supply chain that supports the growth of our suppliers, and ultimately reward shareholders through profit distribution. This is the fundamental spirit of management. Especially in Korea, where the domestic market is not large and large corporations dominate existing business sectors, recklessly running a business at a loss could jeopardize the 'going concern assumption' that companies must continue to operate. Therefore, we strive to maintain these basic principles.

- Offline store dependency is still high. Could you introduce your future online and offline strategies?

▲ Currently, offline store dependency accounts for about 50% of total sales based on daily sales. Offline sales have not changed much, but online sales have surged, and online sales are expected to soon surpass offline sales. Unlike offline, online business has limitless scalability. Offline targets local residents, limiting sales growth, whereas online targets nationwide customers, naturally allowing for greater sales growth. Currently, daily delivery orders reach 7,000, and we have completed logistics center facility investments to handle up to 30,000 orders.

- Are there plans to enter new businesses, including industrial products?

▲ There are several business sectors waiting for expansion beyond fresh food. However, business expansion is based on the success of existing businesses, either by entering new markets with existing products or by providing new services to existing customers. The foundation of business expansion is a strong core business. Our business principle is to supply customers with excellent local products at reasonable prices. We plan to create a new trend of healthy food and ethical consumption with pesticide-free and organic products.