Ticket Monster launches business in Malaysia

Ticket Monster, the country’s largest social commerce firm, said Tuesday the company would launch its first overseas business in Malaysia in its first step into the market there.

Daniel Shin, CEO and co-founder of Ticket Monster, said it recently acquired Everyday.com, which is a leading social shopping site in Malaysia.

Malaysia was chosen because Ticket Monster expects the market there to grow sharply with the country’s rising Internet penetration, according to Shin. The Internet penetration rate in Malaysia increased to 64.6 percent this year, from 56.3 percent last year.

The firm also plans to start businesses in other Asian countries such as Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan, he said.

“We began our operation in Seoul and did not have many plans to go into overseas markets in the past,” he told reporters in a press conference held in downtown Seoul. “But Ticket Monster has become the world’s No. 5 social commerce firm and the top social shopping site in terms of business volume.”

As a result, the company started turning its eyes overseas in March, making plans to take position as the strongest player in Asia’s social commerce market.

“Business expansion in Asia has now become reality and we’re able to support the move with financial funding and also feeling the responsibility to make the expansion,” said Shin. “It has hit me recently that we may be able to perform better than other global players Groupon and LivingSocial.”

Ticket Monster, established in May of last year, acquired Astrics, which possessed the technology needed by the shopping commerce firm earlier this month.

With the advanced technology, it will expand its platform to social commerce 2.0, from social commerce 1.0, which would display discount offers through location-based services.

“TMON NOW, which introduces deals around the user’s location, will be launched in the latter half of this year,” he said. “Everything that is done online, such as making reservations, orders and even paying checks, will soon all be done online and through mobile phones.”

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)