South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group has formed partnerships with major retailers to reduce the influence of e-commerce operator Coupang.

Gmarket, the group’s online shopping subsidiary, said Tuesday it will carry out a special promotion in collaboration with Auction, CJ Cheiljedang Corp., LG Household & Health Care Ltd., and Coca-Cola Korea until June 25.

Members of Gmarket and Auction will receive a 15 per cent discount coupon for Shinsegae Universe.

Furthermore, Shinsegae plans to launch a collaboration package event where customers can receive a free LG H&H product when purchasing a CJ Cheiljedang product, or vice versa.

Other subsidiaries of the group, such as E-Mart and SSG.com, will also participate in this promotional event.

Some industry watchers suggest that this promotion can be viewed as a joint response by Shinsegae, CJ Cheiljedang, and LG H&H to curb the influence of Coupang.

This collaboration comes after a dispute over pricing led CJ Cheiljedang and LG H&H to withdraw from the e-commerce retailer.

Gmarket, E-Mart, and SSG.com, which are leading this event, are retail subsidiaries of Shinsegae and are part of the recently launched online and offline integrated membership program called Shinsegae Universe.

This story was originally published by Ashley Song, via Korea Bizwire.