AliExpress vows to step up marketing blitz in S. Korea

Alibaba Group's AliExpress said Tuesday it will step up marketing campaigns in South Korea with an aim of securing more than half of online shopping platform users in South Korea within three to five years.

In a press conference held in Hangzhou, AliExpress Korea Chief Executive Ray Zhang announced the target for the Korean market, which is dominated by local e-commerce giant Coupang Inc.

The Chinese e-commerce retail platform has aggressively promoted about 150 million products at competitive prices since last year for a bigger share in the Korean e-commerce markets.

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, a company spokesperson said over the phone.

AliExpress said it will be able to announce detailed plans on its logistics center in Korea in the first half of next year.

"We will join hands with a Korean company to build the logistics center equipped with advanced smart technologies," the CEO said.

In October, AliExpress launched the K-Venue marketplace to allow small and medium-sized Korean firms to sell home appliances, food and beverages, and other daily necessities.

The Korean companies are allowed to pay no commissions to AliExpress until December for "mutual growth," the Chinese platform said.

In recent years, Chinese e-commerce platforms, including PDD Holdings' Temu and AliExpress, have been aggressive in their marketing to woo customers in Korea away from bigger local rivals, represented by Coupang. (Yonhap)