[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] TheMamma announced on the 8th that it has signed a business agreement (MOU) with Seespace24, the convenience store franchise operated by Seespaceis, to establish a 'Last Meter' delivery system.
On the same day, the two companies held the signing ceremony at TheMamma's Seoul office located in Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. TheMamma CEO Kim Minsu and Seespaceis CEO Lee Eunyong attended and promised strategic collaboration for mutual growth.
TheMamma is a distribution IT company operating the local grocery mart shopping apps 'Mamma Meokja' and 'MaZa'. It sells fresh food and industrial products from affiliated neighborhood marts nationwide through the MaZa app and provides same-day delivery services. It operates directly managed grocery marts in Seoul, the metropolitan area, and the Chungcheong region. It is preparing for a KOSDAQ initial public offering (IPO) next year.
Seespaceis is a distribution specialist company operating Seespace24, a convenience store with a 30-year tradition. It has 321 stores nationwide. It is also responsible for logistics supply to about 1,000 individual convenience stores through its logistics warehouses. Seespace24 is considered one of the six major convenience stores in Korea, alongside GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, Emart24, and Ministop.
Through this agreement, the two companies plan to enable the purchase of Seespace24 products on the MaZa app. They plan to use Seespace24 stores as the final delivery hubs and advance the delivery stage between the final hub and consumers, that is, the last mile, to the last meter level.
The literal meaning of last mile is the distance logistics travel from an intermediate hub to the final destination. In the distribution and logistics industry, it refers to the last delivery stage when ordered products move to consumers or the logistics hubs where products stay just before final delivery to consumers.
TheMamma and Seespaceis aim to go beyond the last mile and build a last meter delivery system. They plan to place the final logistics hubs very close to MaZa app customers and minimize the time it takes for products to reach customers from the final hubs. They will utilize Seespace24 convenience stores nationwide as final hubs and develop the last meter delivery system.
Additionally, TheMamma plans to support Seespace24 to grow into a specialized distribution platform company by providing online and offline distribution networks and professional personnel. Along with this, they will supply electronic shelf label (ESL) solutions and advanced ICT retail tech to Seespace24 to gradually implement smart stores.
Kim Minsu, CEO of TheMamma, said, "This is an important time when both companies must overcome a big mountain to become mid-sized and large enterprises, but it is difficult to climb the mountain alone." He added, "If Seespaceis's logistics and TheMamma's IT combine, synergy between technology-logistics and offline-online will occur, enabling rapid growth." He also said, "Through this agreement ceremony, the two companies will be able to properly realize the last meter."
Lee Eunyong, CEO of Seespaceis, emphasized, "As small and medium-sized enterprises, there are clear limitations, which is probably similar for TheMamma." He added, "I hope this agreement will be an opportunity to combine TheMamma's strengths in online business, platform, and fintech with our strengths in offline business to coexist and grow together."
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