Distribution Family 'IPO Speed Control'... "Taking a Breather While Enhancing Competitiveness"

This year, the distribution industry, which had anticipated a wave of IPOs, has begun to slow down the pace of public offerings. Amid market instability caused by both domestic and international factors, difficulties stemming from rapid inflation, and changes in the distribution landscape brought about by the endemic phase of infectious diseases, the distribution sector has entered a second round of efforts to enhance competitiveness suited to the rapidly changing market environment.

◇Adjusting Timing from Speed to Breather

According to the distribution industry on the 28th, companies planning IPOs this year such as Kurly, Oasis Market, SSG.com, and CJ Olive Young are carefully monitoring market conditions and adjusting their listing schedules accordingly.

The fastest mover is Kurly. Having submitted its preliminary listing review to the Korea Exchange at the end of March, Kurly has surpassed 45 trading days without receiving results yet. The outcome is expected as early as the end of this month or next month, but the company plans to coordinate the timing before filing the securities registration statement. Industry insiders see the key issue as how much the company’s valuation of 4 trillion won, recognized during the pre-IPO equity investment, will adjust to reflect current market conditions.

SSG.com has internally completed IPO preparations but is closely watching market conditions. Since immediate fundraising through listing is not urgent and the current stock market does not favor high corporate valuations, SSG.com is reviewing appropriate timing with its underwriters. Oasis Market is also preparing to request a preliminary review for listing this year, but the exact timing remains undecided. The company aims to prepare conservatively, focusing on steady growth and profitability rather than raising the offering price. CJ Olive Young is also preparing to proceed within the year without any significant schedule changes but plans to assess market conditions before full-scale advancement. 11st is targeting an IPO next year and is currently expanding its scale.

◇Rapid Market Changes... Securing Competitiveness is Key

Recently, not only the financial investment sector but also the distribution industry has seen a shift in atmosphere, with explosive online growth slowing due to the endemic phase and inflation. Accordingly, not only IPO candidates but also major online and offline distribution companies are focusing more on efficient scale growth and improving their business structure through profit and loss management rather than accepting deficits for aggressive expansion.

Kurly has recently expanded into various categories such as beauty and travel. It is also considering offline expansion for branding purposes. To this end, it recently filed trademarks for “OffKurly” in both Korean and English. The company is also strengthening its nationwide logistics center expansion. To enable broader dawn delivery services, Kurly plans to add a logistics center in the central region next year, following the Changwon logistics center responsible for the Gyeongnam area.

SSG.com is focusing on expanding its membership program by integrating offline stores such as Emart with the recently launched paid membership service “Smile Club,” which was developed in collaboration with Gmarket Global. The integrated Smile Club attracted 300,000 new members within a month of launch, and the company plans to build an online-offline integrated membership system, rare among other e-commerce platforms, to expand loyal customers with a high average spending per person. Oasis Market aims to aggressively increase its offline stores from the current 60 to a maximum of 100 this year, having added nine stores so far.

A distribution industry insider said, “Companies adjusting IPO speed amid unstable market conditions will use this period to improve their business structure, sparking competition to present more meaningful business models and efficient management indicators.”

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