SK Planet’s n11.com tops online marketplace in Turkey

E-commerce platform n11.com, operated by a subsidiary of leading mobile operator SK Telecom, topped the online market in Turkey in 2015, the Korean company said Monday.

SK Planet, which owns the online marketplace 11st.com here, launched the Turkish version of the site in March 2013.

“As a latecomer to the industry, we faced tough competition and lacked infrastructure, but we armed ourselves with the mindset of a start-up in the e-commerce business to take us to No. 1,” n11.com CEO Jo Won-yong said in an official statement.

After gaining the most monthly transactions in October 2014, n11.com reached the annual top slot with deals amounting to $485 million in 2015, according to the company.

As of the end of last year, n11.com has 6 million members, with over 27 million products for sale. The site receives over 15 million hits per month.

SK Planet said that it differentiated n11.com from rivals in Turkey through several localization strategies.

It created the n11.com Studio that provides consultations for sellers and free photo shoots of products.

The site also opened regional offices in major Turkish cities and created partnerships with six distribution companies to allow low-cost shipping throughout the country.

After entering Turkey in 2013, SK Planet broke entered Indonesia with the brand elevenia in March 2014, and started operations in Malaysia with the brand 11street in April 2015. The company plans to enter Thailand this year.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)