Coupang announced on the 6th that the number of partners supplying products to its private brand subsidiary, CPLB, has exceeded 630 as of the end of last year. The number of employees has increased by 4,000 compared to the previous year, marking the highest annual figure.
The number of CPLB partners, which was 160 in 2019, increased to about 380 in 2021 and about 550 in 2023, doubling approximately every two years. Compared to 2019, it has quadrupled in five years.
As of February, the number of employees at these partners is 27,000, which is an increase of 17.4% compared to early last year (23,000).
This is also compared to the employment growth rate (0.6%) announced by the Statistics Korea for last year. Nine out of ten CPLB partners operating brands such as Gomgom, Tamsa, Comet, and VitaHalo are small and medium-sized manufacturers, accounting for over 90% of Coupang PB product sales. Additionally, 80% have production bases located outside the Seoul area.
For example, a company called Playground Company located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which supplies food to CPLB, has seen its sales increase from 8 billion won in 2019 to 20 billion won last year, and its number of employees grow from 15 to 35. This growth is attributed to expanded production facilities through additional investment.
The Gwangbok Agricultural Cooperative in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, which supplies rice, saw its sales soar to the 20 billion won range last year, an increase of 29 times compared to the first year of supply in 2018.
CPLB is expanding its private brand collaborations, such as launching the skincare product 'Elle Paris' with small manufacturers earlier this year. Gwangbok Agricultural Cooperative is the 'first small manufacturer' to supply rice to CPLB.
A CPLB representative noted, "As small manufacturers grow, a virtuous cycle is being created in which employment increases and the local economy is revitalized," and added, "We will continue to discover partners that manufacture quality products to offer a variety of cost-effective (price-to-quality ratio) products to customers."