11st, Why They Chose FILA Over eBay

Expanding eBay Acquisition Scale vs.
Securing Competitiveness of Exclusive Products

Sangho Lee, CEO of 11st.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] On the day before the eBay headquarters board meeting, the final hurdle in the eBay Korea acquisition battle that stirred the distribution industry (the 15th), Lee Sang-ho, CEO (President·photo) of 11st, visited the FILA Korea headquarters. He had already stepped back from the eBay Korea acquisition battle and declared his 'My Way.' On that day, Lee signed a strategic business partnership agreement (JBP) with FILA Korea, focusing on exclusive product launches, first sales of new and planned products. It is known that this decision was based on the judgment that securing product competitiveness rather than increasing 'scale' through the acquisition of eBay Korea is crucial to gaining an advantage in the future e-commerce market.

◆ Taking direct action to secure competitiveness = Lee plans to personally participate in renewing the JBP contract with Amorepacific scheduled for next week. In March, Lee also visited the Korea P&G headquarters located in Yeouido, Seoul, and signed a JBP with Lee Jun-yeop, Vice President of Korea P&G. Lee's direct involvement clarifies 11st's strategy to focus on securing product competitiveness suited to the characteristics of an open market rather than expanding size through mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

11st plans to expand the number of JBPs from 39 brand companies last year to about 70 this year. Through this, they will strengthen exclusive pre-launches of new products, exclusive discount promotions, expansion of live broadcast content, planning of gift-exclusive products, and monthly 11th-day brand products. As of May this year, 46 brands have participated in JBPs. This means they have pursued partnerships with an average of two brands per week. These efforts are bearing fruit in performance. According to 11st, the transaction volume of brands with JBPs increased by about 30% on average compared to the previous year.

◆ A winning move through cooperation with Amazon = Lee's winning move is cooperation with Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce company. 11st plans to launch an overseas direct purchase service within the year, allowing customers to purchase Amazon products directly through the 11st app. At the SK Telecom shareholders' meeting last March, Lee stated, "We will secure growth and profitability for a successful IPO," adding, "Especially in the Amazon direct purchase service, we will introduce a system where customers can purchase Amazon products most conveniently in four areas: language, payment, delivery, and customer service."

Since last year, they have been focusing on developing video commerce. Representative examples include 'Kkukkkuk,' 11st's video review service, and the video-based 'Home Tab' operation. The cumulative viewers of the 'Live11' broadcast in the first quarter of this year increased about eightfold compared to the previous quarter.