Coupang Chairman of the Board of Directors Kim Bum-seok (third from left) is holding the opening bell at the listing ceremony on the New York Stock Exchange on the 11th (local time). Coupang offer
“Korea is the only large market that has not been dominated by Amazon and Alibaba, which dominate the global e-commerce market. We plan to use the funds listed on the New York Stock Exchange to reinvest in innovative technologies to strengthen our position in Korea.”
Coupang Chairman of the Board of Directors Kim Bum-seok emphasized this in a video interview with the New York Correspondent in line with the listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on the 11th (local time). Coupang’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange was the largest non-US company since the IPO of Alibaba in China in 2014.
Chairman Kim emphasized, “The large-scale early morning delivery and easy return service are the advantages of Coupang, which even Amazon does not have.” In the Korean e-commerce market, which is worth 530 trillion won per year, Coupang’s share is about 13%, second only to Naver (17%).
Coupang, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at $49.25 per share, up 40.7% from the offering price ($35) on the first day of the transaction. Founder Chairman Kim’s equity value (10.2% stake) is estimated to be about 10 trillion won.
The major shareholders of Coupang are Softbank Vision Fund (33.1%), Greenox (16.6%), and Neil Meta (16.6%).
Bum-Seok Kim, Chairman of Coupang’s Board of Directors.
On that day, Coupang’s market capitalization was recorded at $8.85 billion. In this IPO, Coupang succeeded in raising $4.55 billion. The following is the full text of an interview with Chairman Kim.
▶You have successfully entered the New York Stock Exchange, but you will be impressed..
“After the company was founded, I have been running to see only customers for about 10 years. In order to solve the customer’s discomfort, they sometimes took reckless challenges. It mobilized enormous funds to build a logistics network. Instead of avoiding what others are trying to dodge, you have a DNA that faces head-on. I think listing on the New York Stock Exchange was an opportunity to show the potential of Korean unicorns (unlisted startups with a corporate value of over 1 trillion won).”
▶ Do you have any plans to re-imagine Coupang’s future after listing, including overseas expansion?
“The size of Korea’s commerce (commerce) market is never small. It is a market worth at least 530 trillion won. We are proud that the Korean market has become well known overseas through this listing. The Korean market has considerable size and growth potential. Korea is the only one of the top 10 e-commerce markets in the world that Amazon and Alibaba have not dominated. As it is a tremendous market entering the top 10 economies, I will do my best here.”
▶ It is possible to raise $4.6 billion through the public offering. How do you plan to use it?
“The unicorn that first blocked Amazon in the global commerce market was Alibaba. Such companies also raised large-scale capital by listing on the New York Stock Exchange. This funding was able to increase market share in many markets. We also thought it was natural and the right decision to enter the world’s largest capital market. It plans to aggressively invest the funds raised in this way to secure global competitiveness and strengthen customer innovation. While creating a lot of good jobs, we will also contribute to vitalizing the local economy. In particular, it plans to invest a lot in expanding distribution centers to expand the nationwide delivery network. We will provide benefits to small and medium-sized merchants.”
▶ It seems that they have benchmarked a lot of Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company.
“Coupang’s emphasis is on early morning delivery and innovative return services. Millions of products, not just a few, can be ordered before 12pm and delivered to the door by 7am the next day. It is the world’s first service. There are also a lot of items shipped on the same day. In particular, it includes fresh food. If you don’t like what you ordered, you can return it at the door without the need for packaging. The moment the Coupang friend (delivery driver) scans the item by pressing a button in front of the door, the refund is completed. It is a service that I envy even abroad, including Amazon. Huge logistics investments and unique technological innovations made this possible. Samsung Electronics was inspired by Sony in Japan, but surpassed Sony. Thanks to the innovative DNA. Learned quickly and made it more amazing. Some Americans asked if the Coupang service could be introduced into the United States. It is similar to Amazon in that it focuses on the customer and continues to innovate, but Coupang Service has a unique structure in the global market as well.”
▶If there is a reason why many tech companies chose the New York Stock Exchange instead of NASDAQ?
“The New York Stock Exchange has a long tradition. The corporate community is also huge. There are many global companies entering the market. I wanted to set a new record in the capital markets, side by side with them. I wanted to show Korean unicorns properly.”
(Han-Seung Kang, General Manager of Coupang Management) “The New York Stock Exchange has a history of over 200 years. It is said that it is the first time in the history of 200 years that the Taegeukgi was caught here. My heart was proud of the Taegeukgi. I think you did a good job choosing the New York Stock Exchange.”
▶If you have a long-term roadmap.
“Of course, we have a long-term roadmap. I also want to export the’K-Commerce’ model that Coupang showed. But for the time being, I will devote myself to Korean customers.”
Coupang successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange on the 11th (local time). Coupang offer
▶ What are your thoughts on how many industrial accidents are occurring by Coupang delivery drivers?
(CEO Han-seung Kang) “Coupang is a company that directly employs over 50,000 people in Korea. It ranks third in Korea in terms of employment size. The safety and working conditions of all workers are very important values. For the first time in the industry, it introduced a 52-hour working system, 5 days a week. Four major insurances were guaranteed for delivery drivers. I think it has set a new standard in the shipping industry. It is also the first time that stocks worth 100 billion won are paid to them for free. We will continue to do our best for the development of the logistics industry.”
▶ Do you have any plans to acquire other delivery app technology companies such as Yogiyo?
“Not yet. When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, more than anything else, cultural considerations should be considered. It cannot be approached only from a business point of view. This is because of the customer-centric philosophy. Instead of avoiding difficult problems, we have devoted ourselves to constructing the DNA that we are trying to solve by confronting them directly. I intend to focus on this.”
▶ Coupang is still a deficit company. When do you think it can turn into a surplus?
“I think it was an investment, not a deficit. Coupang was able to come this far thanks to colleagues, investors and customers who believed in and supported the long-term vision. With the entry into the New York Stock Exchange, it plans to invest more aggressively, continually, and deliberately. Rather than focusing on escaping the deficit, it would be nice to think that we will continue to invest.”
▶ Some pointed out that they chose the US stock market instead of Korea because of the differential voting rights (a system that allowed them to defend management rights by giving them voting rights beyond their owned stocks).
“There were many reasons, but the biggest one was funding. The goal was to go to a market that could attract the most capital. I wanted to compete with world-class companies in a big market. I know that it was the same reason that Alibaba chose the New York Stock Exchange. Differential voting rights are one of many backgrounds.”
▶ Let’s self-evaluate the reason that was evaluated higher than expected in the process of public offering.
“The renowned investor Benjamin Graham said,’The stock market is a popular vote in the short term, but it is a weighing machine in the long run.’ Coupang has so far not pursued a short-term strategy. Judging from a popular polling point of view, today’s rocket delivery systems would not have existed. Although it has been listed successfully, we will still put our customers first and do our best to make a good social impact, just like when it was a privately held company. I will not pursue short-term value.”
New York = Correspondent Jae-Gil Cho [email protected]