2024-04-23 06:45:41
[비즈니스포스트] Coupang completely refuted the Fair Trade Commission’s claim that it gave preferential treatment to its own-brand products.
Coupang said in a statement on the 23rd: “The Fair Trade Commission talks regarding the essence of this incident as if it is preferential treatment for its own brand, but the essence of this incident is actually regarding the how products are presented in stores. all distributors. “Presenting the products you want the way you want them is the essence of the retail industry, and all retailers, whether online or offline, operate the same way,” he said. declared.
Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jeong appeared on KBS’s “Sunday Diagnosis” on the 21st and expressed his opinion that it is unacceptable that Coupang asked its employees to write reviews on own-brand products and place them at the top of search rankings. a sort of preferential treatment for the company.
Coupang claimed: “In this case, the Fair Trade Commission is challenging ‘algorithm manipulation’ by showing consumers the products they want most,” and added: “There is no country in the world which regulates the nature of this distribution industry. »
Coupang cited results obtained when searching for an iPhone or cosmetics as an example that contradicts the Fair Trade Commission’s claims.
When you search for an iPhone on Coupang, “New iPhone” is searched first. The Fair Trading Commission considers this to be algorithmic manipulation, but Coupang sees no problem in showing consumers the products they want most.
The Fair Trade Commission also considers Coupang’s priority exposure to authentic cosmetics and seasonal products to be a problem. It is known that introducing products with the lowest price and fastest delivery to customers first is also suspected of being manipulated by the algorithm.
Coupang said: “If mechanical neutrality is applied to distributors’ search results, as the Fair Trading Commission argues, it will be difficult for consumers to find the products they want, and it will inevitably be difficult for new companies to enter the market and for consumers. small and medium sized businesses for sale. ” He argued: “There is not a single country in the world that requires the neutrality required for search services such as Naver. »
They also argued that applying regulations only to Coupang’s own-brand products constitutes reverse discrimination.
Coupang said: “Nine out of ten popular brand products in hypermarkets dominate the ‘golden zone’ where sales increase up to four times, but the Fair Trading Commission only challenges the exposure of Coupang’s own brand in line. “They only regulate Coupang, which accounts for 5% of its own brand sales, with double standards, leaving only large supermarkets with 30% of sales.”
According to Coupang, the sales proportion of Costco’s own brands, E-Mart and Lotte Mart from 2022 to 2023 are 32%, 20% and 15%, respectively. Coupang generated only 5% of its total own-brand sales during the same period.
Coupang also refuted the Fair Trade Commission’s position that it made huge profits from the preferential treatment given to its own brand.
Coupang said, “During the spread of the coronavirus, when the price of other companies’ masks soared to more than 10,000 won per piece, Coupang froze the price of Bache brand masks and suffered a loss of 50 billion of won. a loss of more than 60 billion won,” he said.
Regarding suspicions that Coupang mobilized its managers and employees to manipulate reviews of its own brand products, the company said this was not true.
Coupang said: “Coupang transparently and legally operates the ‘Coupang Experience Group’ to introduce its own branded products to small and medium-sized businesses that find it difficult to survive due to market domination by large companies, and this is clearly announced to customers. “We make this clear to customers,” he said. “It is also wrong that branded products are exposed at the top of search results,” he said.
The Fair Trading Commission is investigating allegations of preferential treatment of Coupang’s own-brand products following a report by Popular Solidarity for Participatory Democracy in 2022. The policy is to hold a plenary meeting in May to decide of the level of sanctions.
Coupang said: “We will reveal the facts and actively provide explanations in a plenary meeting. » Journalist Nam Hee-heon
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