Shinsegae's E-Mart Discount Chain And Alibaba To Form Korean Joint Venture

South Korean E-commerce Market Overview - The South Korean e-commerce market is one of the largest and most competitive globally, with key players including Coupang, Temu, and AliExpress [1] E-Mart and Alibaba Joint Venture - E-Mart, a subsidiary of Shinsegae Group, has agreed to form a joint venture with Alibaba to combine domestic distribution expertise with Alibaba's e-commerce and IT capabilities [2][6] - The joint venture, named Grand Opus Holding, will be equally owned by E-Mart's subsidiary Apollo Korea and Alibaba's AliExpress International (Netherlands) and is set to launch in 2025 [4] - The partnership aims to expand sales channels for domestic sellers' products globally and improve Gmarket's services and customer experience [2][9] - The announcement of the joint venture led to a 5.45% increase in E-Mart's shares, resulting in a market cap of 2.1 trillion won (approximately $1.4 billion) [2] Shinsegae Group Leadership and Acquisitions - Chung Yong-jin, a billionaire and member of the Shinsegae Group, was promoted to chairman in March 2023 [5] - Shinsegae Group acquired Gmarket as part of its$3 billion purchase of eBay's South Korean business in 2021 and also acquired South Korean fashion app W Concept for 265 billion won the same year [11] Gmarket Performance and Leadership - Gmarket, Shinsegae's online shopping platform, reported revenue of 1.2 trillion won and a loss of 11 billion won in the previous year [8] - Danny Chung, Gmarket's CEO, joined the company in July from Alibaba, where he served as Korea general manager [8]