SK Planet, eBay Korea clash over Huawei's smartphone

By Park Jae-hyuk

SK Planet and eBay Korea, which have been locked in a legal battle for supremacy in the nation's e-commerce market, have begun making every effort to attract consumers to buy the Huawei Nova Lite 2 through their e-commerce platforms.

Amid the growing interest in the Chinese tech firm's new smartphone, eBay Korea even made a PR blunder — which appears to be an intentional attempt to defeat its rival.

In its press release sent to reporters at 7 a.m., Monday, the Korean unit of the U.S. e-commerce giant said its e-commerce platforms — Gmarket and Auction — are the only two online marketplaces where pre-orders for Huawei's budget smartphone are available.

However, SK Planet put out its press release about an hour later, which says its 11st e-commerce platform will also take pre-orders for the smartphone.

Then, eBay Korea sent a corrected press release at 10 a.m., citing “internal confusion.”

The reason for the fierce marketing competition for the Huawei Nova Lite 2 is that consumers can choose among the country's three mobile carriers after buying the smartphone for 253,000 won ($224).

Huawei users in Korea previously could not choose telecommunication companies for their smartphones. They had to buy the Chinese company's budget smartphone only from retail stores of mobile carriers that had signed partnership agreements with Huawei.

Huawei's new strategy is therefore expected to help it expand its presence in the Korean market.

The Huawei Nova Lite 2 will be distributed by SK Networks and Shinsegae I&C.

SK Planet has joined hands with the former, while eBay Korea is partnering with the latter. They will receive pre-orders until Aug. 12, a day before the smartphone's release in the Korean market.

The two e-commerce companies promised various benefits to customers who order the product.

An SK Planet official said, “Those who use credit cards of Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Lotte and NH Nonghyup to buy the Huawei Nova Lite 2 through 11st can get up to 32,830 won discounts.”

According to eBay Korea, customers can get interest-free installments for up to 20 months, if they pay for the smartphone via Gmarket and Auction with credit cards of KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Lotte, Hyundai and Smile Card, eBay Korea's own payment system.

The company will also allow 300 customers to get 10 percent cash back.

“The cashback service and interest-free installment are only available at Gmarket and Auction,” an eBay Korea manager said.

Both e-commerce companies will give flip cases and selfie sticks on a first-come, first-served basis.

If the smartphone's LCD panel is damaged within three months after the purchase, they can exchange the product free of charge.