Tmon 티몬 and WeMakePrice 위메프, both giants of South Korean e-commerce only a decade ago, are now facing bankruptcy after losing virtually all of their market share to rivals, most notably Coupang 쿠팡. The shockwave is reaching all the way to their Singaporean parent company Qoo10 큐텐 (pronounced “cue ten”), which may be facing a severe restructuring.
Tmon, WeMakePrice and Coupang were all founded in 2010 on a business model similar to that of Groupon or LivingSocial - “social commerce” sites offering flash discount deals. But Coupang was the first to switch its business strategy in 2014 by introducing Rocket Delivery 로켓배송, building on superior funding from Softbank and a successful initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange to become a South Korean answer to Amazon.
Tmon and WeMakePrice were not so fortunate. Unlike Coupang, which had consistent leadership from founder Bom Kim 김범석, Tmon and WeMakePrice were held by a consortium of private equity funds that could not execute a coherent strategy over several years. As Coupang gradually ate into South Korea’s e-commerce market share, Tmon and WeMakePrice were relegated to acting largely as sales platforms for small businesses, particularly travel agencies and computer component vendors. In 2022, both companies were acquired at a significant discount by Qoo10, a holding company founded by South Korean e-commerce entrepreneur Gu Yeong-bae 구영배.
Even this came to an end on July 23, when Tmon and WeMakePrice stopped paying the small businesses. By July 30, the courts ordered both companies to preserve assets as a precursor step before bankruptcy, while angry small business owners rushed to Tmon and WeMakePrice headquarters to demand answers about their receivables. The two companies may owe as much as KRW 1.2t (USD 877m) in payables.
