[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Naver has embarked on expanding the business opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The company aims to leverage Naver's IT technology to assist SMEs in entering global markets. Naver is intensifying its logistics solution business to support SMEs and is also contributing 10 billion KRW in cash to help SMEs facing growth challenges.
Naver Sees 420,000 Online Startups
On the 2nd, at the ‘Naver Meetup’ press conference held online, Naver CEO Han Seong-suk revealed, "The ‘Project Flower,’ which aimed to lead 10,000 startups in April 2016, has resulted in 420,000 Smart Store startups."
Naver’s ‘Project Flower’ is CEO Han’s ambitious initiative. Its core is to grow the platform through mutual growth with SMEs. This also leads to an increase in Naver’s competitiveness. When SME businesses thrive, advertising and search data increase, enabling Naver to generate revenue.
CEO Han stated, "The growth model created by the platform and SMEs has become a major trend in platform business," adding, "We will lead new platform rules through the development of various tools and support programs based on data."
Expansion of ‘Fast Delivery’... Supporting Dongdaemun Fashion’s Global Expansion
Naver has set its sights on laying the groundwork for global market expansion. CEO Han said, "This year will mark another beginning for Naver toward going global." Naver will launch ‘Project Flower 2.0,’ which aims to help SMEs grow in scale by providing various logistics solutions and further expand into global markets.
Naver plans to expand the ‘Fast Delivery’ product line for food and daily necessities sellers and establish a collaborative model to support logistics quality management for producers who ship directly from production sites. CEO Han explained, "This year, we will focus on ‘Fast Delivery’ for daily necessities," adding, "We are also conducting pilot tests where items arrive on the same day even during live broadcasts."
However, Naver is focusing on differentiating itself from Coupang by collaborating with logistics companies to offer various delivery methods. Kim Pyeong-song, head of business development, said, "Coupang’s core is direct purchasing and direct logistics," and added, "Naver emphasizes providing various logistics methods, such as easy exchanges and returns or premium delivery, so that SMEs and users can conveniently use them."
Naver will also assist Dongdaemun fashion’s entry into Japan. The company announced it will introduce the ‘Smart Store Platform’ within the first half of the year to expand commerce businesses of Line and Yahoo Japan. CEO Han said, "If Smart Store establishes itself in Japan, we plan to connect Dongdaemun fashion to global markets," adding, "We will discuss products that perform well in Japan to explore possible cooperation."
To support startups and global expansion in the Dongdaemun fashion sector, Naver is partnering with logistics startups to provide the ‘Dongdaemun Smart Logistics Solution.’ Naver will also create a ‘Fulfillment (storage and delivery integrated service) Data Platform’ that consolidates Smart Store data accumulated so far and logistics data from partner companies in one place.
Expanding ‘Neighborhood Market Shopping’... 10 Billion KRW Cash Contribution for SMEs
Naver is expanding the ‘Naver Shopping’ neighborhood market presence from about 80 locations nationwide to 160, enabling offline business owners to build their foundation online. Naver Shopping is a service where users can order products sold at traditional markets near their residence via a smartphone app and have them delivered. For example, the first market to join, Amsa Market in Seoul, generates an average monthly sales of 100 million KRW. To extend the success of neighborhood markets to local restaurants and cafes, Naver is also improving ‘Smart Place,’ which displays store information in search and maps.
Naver is also launching new initiatives such as the ‘Start All-in-One Program’ and ‘Naver Business School.’ The company plans to support payment fees and provide professional education including management consulting for SMEs. In addition to the existing 12-month payment fee support, Naver will additionally support sales-linked fees for six months. It will also assist SMEs in blind spots. CEO Han added, "Naver will contribute 10 billion KRW in cash to support these SMEs."
Han Seong-suk: "Securing Developers Is the Most Worrisome and Challenging Task"
On the same day, CEO Han addressed concerns about securing development personnel and performance bonus controversies. She said, "Securing developers is the most worrisome and challenging task," and explained, "We plan to put more thought into creating systems that ensure developers have no deficiencies when working at Naver."
Regarding the performance bonus controversy, CEO Han said, "With COVID-19 leading to prolonged remote work and reduced physical interaction, we have welcomed over 1,900 new employees," adding, "The answer is to have more frequent interactions and physical contact. We will strive to create many systems necessary for employees to work effectively."
Meanwhile, CEO Han commented on her recent meeting with Lee Hae-jin, Naver’s Global Investment Officer (GIO), and Chung Yong-jin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae, saying, "We had candid and comfortable discussions about concerns in the same distribution sector and what is possible," and added, "If cooperation plans emerge, we are open to discussing possibilities."
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