Qoo10’s goal to list its logistics subsidiary Qxpress on the Nasdaq has hit a wall as money-losing businesses by its Korean e-commerce subsidiaries are scaring off their sellers from their platform. Their market survival has become doubtful, according to the market experts Wednesday.
They speculate that the debacle stems from the Singapore-based e-commerce giant’s aggressive mergers of e-commerce firms worldwide, which have left it struggling to effectively manage TMON and WeMakePrice, acquired in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Both companies started delaying payments to their platform sellers earlier this month because of inadequate cash flow, causing sellers to leave the platforms out of concern.
Market officials speculated that the scale of Qoo10’s global expansion, considering the company’s capacity, was disproportionate and unfeasible.
Established in 2010 by Ku Young-bae, Qoo10 acquired TMON in September 2022. In March and April of the following year, it bought 커뮤니티 Interpark Commerce and WeMakePrice, respectively. The total acquisition price for the three firms was speculated to be 600 billion won ($433 million).
In doing so, Ku gained stakes in TMON and WeMakePrice in exchange for issuing new Qxpress shares, in an apparent bid to secure stable revenue sources for Qxpress and later list it on the Nasdaq.
Qoo10 continued beefing up its muscle. In February, Ku acquired the American e-commerce platform Wish for $173 million, and bought AK Mall, an e-commerce platform, through Interpark Commerce.
Despite the series of expansions, Qoo10 was hemorrhaging money fast from TMON and WeMakePrice. WeMakePrice posted an operating loss of 102.5 billion won last year, as losses widened by 50 billion won from 2022. Its sales also declined by 28 percent to 138.5 billion won.