SK Planet enters Malaysian e-commerce market

SK Planet said Sunday it launched the ecommerce Website 11street in Malaysia on April 24.

The South Korean online commerce operator has been preparing to launch in the Malaysian market for the past six months, after establishing joint firm Celcom Planet with Malaysia’s No. 1 wireless carrier Celcom Axiata.

“The company, which has superior capabilities in online and mobile shopping businesses, will provide differentiated services for local customers,” said Kim Ho-seok, chief executive of Celcom Planet.

The ecommerce Website in Malaysia is SK Planet’s third attempt to tap into global markets since the launch of the Website in Turkey in 2013 and in Indonesia in 2014.

11street in Turkey, which raked in 160 billion won in sales, was the largest in the local market last year and has been garnering a strong market response. The ecommerce Website ranks third in Indonesia.

Malaysia is considered one of the most promising online commerce markets in the world due to its strong economic growth, at around 6 percent to 7 percent, and high Internet and mobile penetration rates.

Global commerce firms including Japan’s Rakuten and Germany’s Rocket Internet have been also trying to infiltrate the local market in recent years.

By Kim Young-won  (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)