Korea-based home shopping specialist CJ O Shopping is to enter Thailand.

CJ O, which runs TV shopping, online and catalogue retailing has entered into a 49:51 joint venture with Thai entertainment company GMM Grammy that will pave a way for the Korean home shopping company to merchandise goods in Thailand.

The television home shopping called O Shopping TV will start its operation in June and will initially offer 120 products. The company promises to introduce about 100 new products every year to Thai customers.

“We hope to change Thai consumers’ shopping behaviour, as in South Korea. With the improvement of information technology infrastructure and growing cable TV viewership, the home shopping market here (South Korea) has grown significantly, which accounts for 26 per cent of sales in retail markets,” said CJ O Shopping CEO Lee Hae-sun.

O Shopping TV entails an investment of 540 million baht (US$17.4 million) and is expected to break even within five years.

CJ O Shopping has signed South Korean logistics and shipping company GJ GLS and Thailand Post to deliver goods to the customers.

Hae-sun said that they will continuously seek new joint ventures in other Southeast Asian countries like Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore for overseas growth. CJ O Shopping has presence in Asia through SCJ in Vietnam, Star CJ in India, Dongbang CJ in Shanghai, Tian Tian CJ in Tianjin, Nambang CJ in Guangzhou and CJ Prime in Japan. It also operates similar businesses in Europe, US and Mexico.

Sales at CJ O Shopping totaled US$3.04 billion last year, up from US$2.48 billion in 2010. The company expects its overseas operations to account for 65 per cent of its total revenue in the next five years.

Meanwhile, its rival GS Shop has also signed a joint venture with Thailand’s cable satellite television operator True Visions and mall operator The Mall Group to tap Thailand’s growing market.

GB