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| Coupang CEO Bom Kim |
Fast-rising e-commerce company WeMakePrice (WMP) has filed a complaint against its major competitor Coupang over a suspected violation of antitrust laws, signaling an intensified power struggle between the two industry leaders over market dominance.
WMP said Sunday it filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), claiming its business partners ― small merchants selling daily necessities ― suddenly terminated relationships for unclear reasons in May.
The unexpected collective decision essentially undermined the firm's marketing campaign launched April 30 that promised to guarantee customers cash rewards twice the difference in the price gap between goods sold by WMF and Coupang.
"We ended up withdrawing the campaign largely because the business partners stopped supplying goods," a WMP official said.
The firm said this was a result of suspected undue influence by Coupang, which has come under increasing threat following aggressive price-cutting marketing campaigns.
"We are a newcomer to the market and we are willing to cut product prices to help improve customers' satisfaction," the official said. "I wonder whether they have the same customer-oriented mindset."
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| WeMakePrice CEO Park Eun-sang |
"Some small merchants said they were practically forced to pay the losses Coupang incurred after losing a price competition, which could constitute abuse of power as a dominant market player," the official said.
Most of the small merchants had little choice but to comply with the demand from Coupang, the largest market player with the strongest influence, the official said.
"Coupang has a far greater number of tight network marketing channels nationwide and small merchants do not dare make problems that could hurt their business prospects in fear that they may lose business altogether," the official said.
Coupang has denied the allegations.
"We have not received any notification from the FTC," a Coupang official said. "We have not engaged in any business practices that could be deemed unlawful and in violation of antitrust laws. That is not how we operate business."
The FTC will decide whether to conduct on-site inspections of the business partners in question.
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