Popular Korean actor Lee Min Ho was flown in to front the brand for its launch – ironically held in a bricks & mortar shopping centre.
The company will invest more than RM35 million (US$10 million) to drive seller participation and planned to have 11,000 sellers on board by the end of this month. The site, at www.11street.my already includes popular brand such as Electrolux, Digi mobile, Nestle, Tony Moly Korean cosmetics, The Face Shop, Fujifilm, Domino’s Pizza and Unilever.
11street’s Malaysia CEO Hoseok Kim says the company wants the new site to become Malaysia’s largest online marketplace.
Established in Korea in 2008, 11street now has online marketplaces in Turkey and Indonesia as well as in its home market and boasted a combined network of 22 million sellers, serving 40 million consumers. Shoppers spend $6 billion annually on its sites.
“The online shopping paradise 11street in Malaysia is the company’s commitment to deliver local consumers a trustable and convenient e-commerce platform where they can shop for a variety of products across a broad range of categories available at anytime, anywhere,” said Kim.
“To deliver greater satisfaction and a more rewarding online shopping experience, it will be the first online marketplace in Malaysia that promotes not only physical products but also deal offerings such as e-vouchers under a single platform.
“11street’s merchandising approach has a proven track record given that its worldwide ventures have grown remarkably well over the past few years. Against such backdrop, similar approach will be adopted to help Malaysian online sellers to excel in today’s increasingly competitive market.”
11streeet in Malaysia will be hosted by Celcom Planet, established in November 2014 as a joint venture between Celcom Axiata Berhad and SK Planet – a leading Korean eCommerce open marketplace provider, which is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of mobile operator- SK Telecom.