AliExpress to help S. Korean SMEs sell products overseas

Alibaba Group's AliExpress said Wednesday it will launch a "global selling program" next month to help South Korean companies sell their products in global markets as part of its marketing campaign. Through the selling program, Korea's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be able to sell their products to customers initially in Japan, Spain, France and the United States starting in October, AliExpress said in a statement. The corporate users of the new program will be exempt from any deposits and commissions for their sales for five years. Multi-language translation services will be available, the statement said. "The program is aimed at helping lower entry barriers for Korean companies when they enter new markets amid a rising demand for Korean products with good design and quality," AliExpress Chief Executive Ray Zhang said at an event. This photo taken Sept. 25, 2024, shows AliExpress CEO Ray Zhang giving a briefing on the Chinese e-commerce platform's business plans in South Korea during th e first AliExpress Korea Seller Forum held at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas hotel in southern Seoul. (Yonhap) This photo taken Sept. 25, 2024, shows AliExpress CEO Ray Zhang giving a briefing on the Chinese e-commerce platform's business plans in South Korea during the first AliExpress Korea Seller Forum held at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas hotel in southern Seoul. (Yonhap) Korean SMEs have sold home appliances, food and beverages, and other daily necessities in the K-Venue marketplace launched by the Chinese e-commerce retail platform in October. But the K-Venue marketplace is for domestic sales and deliveries in Asia's fourth-biggest economy. Korean companies that use the K-Venue marketplace are currently allowed to pay no commissions to AliExpress until December for "mutual growth." "Existing K-Venue users are also allowed to use the new selling program for their global expansion," a company spokesperson said over the phone. In recent years, Chinese e-commerce platforms, including PDD Ho ldings' Temu and AliExpress, have been escalating their marketing to woo customers in Korea away from bigger local rivals, represented by Coupang. Early this month, AliExpress said it will accelerate marketing activities in Korea to secure more than half of online shopping platform users here within three to five years. As of August, AliExpress had ranked third in terms of number of monthly active users with 6.69 million, following Coupang's 13.38 million and 11Street Co.'s 7.68 million. Given the country's e-commerce users reach around 34 million, AliExpress is targeting to attract 17 million in the following several years through marketing and facility investments. Source: Yonhap News Agency