Various types of domestic kimchi are on display at a large supermarket in Seoul./Photo = News 1 Reporter Song Won-young
Coupang’s ability to create jobs is emerging. Last year, the number of employees in major department stores and marts decreased significantly due to restructuring, while Coupang is taking the opposite direction by hiring more than 20,000 additional people.
According to statistics on national pension subscribers on the 21st, the number of Coupang employees at the end of last year was 49915, an increase of 24,000 from the end of the previous year (2019). Coupang’s number of employees has nearly doubled in one year.
On the other hand, as of the end of last year, the number of employees at major offline retailers such as Lotte Shopping, E-Mart, Shinsegae Department Store, and Hyundai Department Store was 53,661, down 3049 from 56710 at the end of the previous year.
Coupang’s job creation is interpreted as being influenced by the increase in Coupang’s delivery staff, Kuching (Coupang friends). At the end of July last year, Coupang reported the news of the surpassing 10,000 people in Kuchin, and changed the name of the delivery staff from Coupangman to Kuchin. Unlike the courier in charge of similar duties, Kuchin is a Coupang employee that Coupang directly hires.
The increase in Kuchin is due to the recent trend toward non-face-to-face online purchases. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as of January, online sales of the retail industry increased 22.6% compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, the share of sales also increased from 42.0% to 48.5% online.
On the other hand, large marts that gave up online distribution leadership saw a major reduction in manpower. It was observed that the number of employees in hypermarkets decreased due to cost reduction effects such as branch restructuring, such as the closing of insolvent stores, and manpower efficiency.
By company, the number of Lotte Shopping decreased by 2,500, showing a marked decline among hypermarkets. Lotte Shopping closed more than 100 stores last year, including one department store, 12 Lotte Mart, and 68 Lotte Super. Lotte Shopping plans to continue restructuring its branches this year to improve its constitution.
E-Mart and Shinsegae Department Store have fewer employees by 632. E-Mart closed 41 specialty stores such as Piero Shopping and Electromart last year to improve profitability.
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