KOTRA, Export Promotion Project in Collaboration with Global Online Retailers

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] KOTRA announced on the 30th that it will collaborate with leading regional distribution networks such as Amazon, the global number one, Shopee, one of the top three shopping malls in Southeast Asia, and Qoo10 Japan, one of the top four open markets in Japan, to carry out the ‘Global Online Distribution Network Power Seller Development Project.’

According to KOTRA on the day, last month, 130 consumer goods companies completed the first phase of entry training for Shopee and Qoo10 Japan, and the Amazon Europe entry support project will also begin on the 17th of next month. KOTRA plans to conduct entry training for 800 companies in the first half of the year alone.

Recently, due to COVID-19, business-to-business (B2B) export opportunities have decreased, leading to an increase in consumer goods companies wishing to sell directly on large global online markets. However, the entry procedures are complicated, and marketing costs are burdensome, making it difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to penetrate large distribution networks on their own. To address this, KOTRA plans to provide step-by-step approaches and marketing know-how from small and medium-sized enterprises preparing for entry to those already entered through this project.

Companies participating in the KOTRA online trade consultation are conducting online consultations. Photo by KOTRA

KOTRA has set a goal to double the number of companies supported for global online distribution network entry training to 1,400 compared to last year and achieve a 30% success rate in entry. The entry training will be conducted over three weeks with marketing experts invited from each platform. Companies that successfully enter after completing the training will receive one-on-one customized consulting and up to 500,000 KRW for online promotion costs.

In particular, to support consumer goods export companies struggling due to COVID-19, KOTRA will select 140 companies that have already entered Amazon with KOTRA’s assistance and focus on online marketing in the first half of the year. Promotion costs will also be temporarily supported up to 1,000,000 KRW to increase export performance in a short period. These companies can apply for support through the KOTRA website starting April 1.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.