K-Pop Much, the story of how a one-person seller grew into a company with 40 employees in just 2 years
Today, we introduce the story of Song Jeong-hyeon, CEO of K-Pop Much, who started Shopee as a one-person seller two years ago and currently runs a company with 40 employees.
Q. Please introduce yourself.
Hello, I am Song Jeong-hyeon, the CEO of K-Pop Much, which sells K-Pop albums and goods in the global market.
Q. How did you start Shopee?
While working at my original company, I was selling to other global platforms. I was recommended Shopee, Southeast Asia's No. 1 e-commerce platform, and started selling in the summer of 2019. What started out as a solo business now employs around 40 people.
Q. What is the organizational structure?
We have dedicated staff for each e-commerce platform. Shopee has the largest number of employees, with a total of 4. In addition, we have separate teams for design, SNS management, and product delivery to support Shopee sales.
Q. What results have you achieved since opening a store on Shopee?
Compared to the same period in 2019 In 2020, we achieved sales of more than 11 times, and this year, we achieved sales of more than 3 times compared to last year, and we are growing steadily.
Q. What are the advantages of Shopee?
1. Stable logistics service, expansion into Central and South America
Unlike other platforms where overseas shipping costs have more than doubled since COVID, Shopee’s shipping costs have not changed, allowing us to continue running our stores stably. And this year, we opened shops in Shopee Brazil and Mexico, allowing us to reach more customers.
We knew there was a lot of demand for K-pop in Central and South America, but it was a difficult market to enter because of the difficult customs clearance and the vast land area. However, thanks to Shopee's logistics service, we were able to enter the market easily.
2. Intuitive Seller Center
The Seller Center, which is dedicated to Shopee sellers, is convenient to use, so you can easily operate your shop on an overseas platform, and you can easily communicate with customers, allowing you to quickly identify products needed locally.
Q. How are your performances in the Brazilian market?
When Shopee Korea first announced that it would open the Brazilian market for Korean sellers, we tried to enter the market faster than anyone else, expand our products, and operate aggressive promotions to take the lead in the market. The biggest factor in our success was that we entered the market first when existing sellers were hesitant due to shipping time and customs clearance risks. K-Pop Much's Shopee Brazil shop has been growing at an average of 2 times per month since its first launch in May 2021 .
Q. What are your future goals?
1. Entering new markets with Shopee
Shopee is known to be expanding its cross-border presence to various markets beyond Southeast Asia and Taiwan. K-Pop Much is also planning to reach out to customers in more diverse markets, starting with Brazil and Mexico, together with Shopee.
2. Not just a simple online shop, but a brand
Our goal is to develop K-PopMuch into a single brand.
Rather than simply being an online shop that sells K-pop albums and goods, we plan to further strengthen our communication functions and open offline stores in Korea and Southeast Asia in the future so that we can actively communicate with customers through social media and become a platform that customers can trust and make purchases from.
3. A window for exchange of Korean culture
We want to lead the creation of a new Korean Wave culture by planning events such as online fan signings with artists who are not yet well-known but are not famous K-pop artists, and turning them into trends. We will not stop at simply selling, but will become a channel for cultural exchange that can introduce and spread new K-pop artists and Korean culture to the local area.