On the 16th, searching for 'Gongyeong Home Shopping' on the Apple App Store shows a mix of the current channel name, Gongyeong Shopping, and the previous channel name, I'm Shopping. Photo by Apple App Store homepage capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] 'Gongyeong Home Shopping', 'Gongyeong Shopping', and 'I'm Shopping' are different names but all created by the same company. Gongyeong Home Shopping is the corporate name, but consumers commonly refer to the channel as Gongyeong Shopping. Additionally, some still call it by its former channel name, I'm Shopping, which has been pointed out to potentially cause confusion among customers.
According to industry sources on the 16th, when searching for Gongyeong Home Shopping on smartphone application stores such as the Apple App Store and One Store, both the current channel name Gongyeong Shopping and the previous channel name I'm Shopping appear mixed.
Although it has been nearly two years since the channel name was changed to I'm Shopping, the 'traffic control' has not yet been properly managed, leading to concerns that consumers may be confused.
A Gongyeong Home Shopping official stated, "There are still some people who search using the channel name I'm Shopping, and it is possible that the algorithm generates related search terms accordingly. Even our employees sometimes get confused."
Established in 2015, Gongyeong Home Shopping faced difficulties with its name from the beginning. Two months after its first broadcast in July of that year, the company attempted to change the channel name from I'm Shopping, but the effort fizzled out.
The 'IM' in I'm Shopping stands for 'Idea Made,' meaning it sells innovative products from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Gongyeong Home Shopping modeled the channel name after 'I'm Shopping,' a distribution store for SME products operated by the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center. It is known that the Distribution Center exerted strong influence during this process.
The channel name change was reportedly pushed because the name I'm Shopping did not align well with the founding purpose of Gongyeong Home Shopping and dissatisfaction arose among major shareholders.
Gongyeong Home Shopping is a company funded by the Small and Medium Business Distribution Center (50.00%), NongHyup Economic Holdings (45.00%), and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (5.00%). In particular, the NongHyup Economic Holdings side pointed out that the channel name I'm Shopping was insufficient to convey that the channel mainly sells not only SME products but also agricultural and marine products.
Ultimately, Gongyeong Home Shopping was criticized for a 'hasty launch' as the channel name was set and the company opened without proper mutual agreement among major shareholders.
The channel name change process gained momentum only after Choi Changhee was appointed as the new CEO of Gongyeong Home Shopping in June 2018. Immediately after his appointment, CEO Choi emphasized that it was a measure to clarify the identity of sales support by emphasizing public nature and to expand the channel's scalability, and in November of that year, the channel name was changed to Gongyeong Shopping.
However, during this process, allegations of preferential treatment arose regarding the selection of the company contracted for the design change work. These allegations became a considerable burden for Gongyeong Home Shopping in actively promoting and publicizing the new channel name.
An industry insider said, "The channel name acts as a kind of 'window' that consumers encounter first, so it is important that it is easy for consumers to remember and effectively encapsulates the brand image. Home shopping companies change or react sensitively to channel names despite the confusion because the channel name significantly influences consumer brand recognition and ultimately sales."
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