[Company Insight] Oasis, the Only Profitable Dawn Delivery Service, Knocks on KOSDAQ

Online Membership and Sales Soar
Synergy Expected Between Parent Company and IT·Advertising Sectors

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Despite the economic slowdown and rising prices, the domestic online grocery market is rapidly growing. In particular, the so-called 'early morning delivery' market, which delivers fresh food to customers' doorsteps early in the morning, has expanded even more through the COVID-19 pandemic. Riding this wave of changing trends, the e-commerce company 'Oasis,' which has experienced 'stormy growth,' is aiming to enter the KOSDAQ market this year.

Launched in October 2011, Oasis initially distributed agricultural products through offline stores but expanded its sales channels to online and mobile by launching 'Oasis Market' in May 2018. It was the first in the industry to introduce 24-hour delivery and early morning delivery services, gaining attention through word of mouth among housewives. Last year, the number of online members surpassed 1 million and has now increased to 1.2 million.

Annual sales, which were around 19.3 billion KRW in 2015, grew more than 12 times to 238.6 billion KRW by 2020. From the third quarter of 2020, online sales exceeded offline sales, and since then, online sales have maintained a scale 1.5 times that of offline sales. In 2021, when the non-face-to-face industry grew due to the spread of COVID-19, sales reached 356.9 billion KRW, marking nearly a 50% growth rate in one year. Cumulative sales for the third quarter of last year also reached 311.8 billion KRW, showing no signs of slowing growth.

Since Oasis Market began generating significant online sales in 2020, investment attraction has also been active. In 2020, investments included 12.6 billion KRW from Korea Investment Partners, 5 billion KRW from Kakao Investment, 5 billion KRW each from Korea Investment and NH Investment & Securities, 15 billion KRW from Must Ventures and Cornerstone-Pentastone Private Equity Fund (PEF), and 10 billion KRW from Home & Shopping. The largest investment to date was 50 billion KRW from Unison Capital Korea in July 2021. Most recently, E-Land Retail invested 33 billion KRW in June last year. The total cumulative investment amount, including Oasis and its parent company GeoSoft, is 155.6 billion KRW.

Based on this, Oasis submitted a preliminary review application for KOSDAQ listing to the Korea Exchange in September last year and received approval on the 30th of last month, about four months later. According to the exchange, the planned public offering amount is between 258.5 billion and 301.6 billion KRW, with the expected issue price per share ranging from 39,600 to 46,200 KRW. The par value per share is 100 KRW. An Oasis representative said, "The goal is to list in the first half of this year."

At one point, the market predicted Oasis's corporate value could reach up to 1.5 trillion KRW. However, as the initial public offering (IPO) market has sharply contracted recently, the atmosphere has somewhat changed. There are cautious views that the corporate value may remain around or below 1 trillion KRW. Above all, as the industry's largest competitor Market Kurly hesitated in pursuing its listing, investors' sentiment has cooled.

Although the situation is challenging, Oasis has strengths to highlight. It is the industry's only 'profitable company.' Led by CEO Ahn Jun-hyung, a former accountant, and management who previously operated the Woori Consumer Cooperative, the company is highly regarded for its deep understanding of the distribution business. Additionally, the synergy effect with its parent company GeoSoft (which holds 55% of Oasis shares) in IT and advertising sectors is also considered an advantage.

The grocery market is considered a sector with relatively low online penetration compared to other product categories such as home appliances, books, clothing, and cosmetics. This implies significant future growth potential for the online grocery delivery business. Although Oasis lags behind Market Kurly in size and brand recognition, it remains to be seen whether it can claim the title of the 'first listed company' in the grocery e-commerce industry.