As Jungle’s ‘24-hour delivery’ took hold, the daily lives of people in Jeju Island began to change rapidly.
Although it promised delivery within 24 hours, there was also a structure where you could click in the evening and receive it by dawn.
- I was worried about buying groceries in the morning, so I went into Jungle Shopping, and I was surprised to find more ingredients than I expected.
Satisfied feedback like this kept piling up.
One day in May, Woo Sang-won’s report was full of satisfaction.
“I never imagined that meat and vegetables could be delivered. Now, the demand exceeds the supply, causing too many out-of-stock situations.”
“That’s good news.”
“At this rate, we should start preparing for the mainland as well.”
“Let’s do that. And further, let’s connect the mainland and Jeju Island. If we can bring specialties from both sides to people’s doorsteps within a day, it will be a win-win situation, right?”
“However, the investment needed will be enormous.”
“We have to do it. Investment. We might have to brace for losses for 1 or 2 years, but once the logistics infrastructure is fully established, Jungle Communication will rise to a dominant position in online commerce.”
No matter how much we sell, if we keep building warehouses and continuously hire delivery drivers as full-time employees, it’s natural to incur losses.
Of course, if Jungle were a small company, this wouldn’t be an option, but things were different now.
With a flawless business, the company’s retained earnings kept accumulating.
“People’s daily lives are about to change completely.”
In Jeju Island, where there was no 24-hour delivery originally, signs of change in daily life were evident.
It made sense, as companies continued to move in and domestic and international R&D centers were established, leading to an explosive increase in one-person or two-person households working there.
“You can’t eat out all the time, and those living alone or newlyweds need ingredients if they want to cook.”
Although shopping in a mart is fun, ordering meat products and vegetables online that are not inferior in quality and cheaper, and receiving them quickly was an undeniable factor.
This also hinted at the growth of another market.
『May in Jeju, is the spring sunlight shining on livestock farms?』
Rumors began to spread among Jeju livestock farms that if they contracted directly with Jungle instead of traditional distributors, they would receive fair prices.
Shortly after, similar rumors circulated among poultry farms raising chickens.
By directly contracting with cattle, pig, and chicken farms, Jungle skipped all the intermediate distribution stages except for slaughter and poultry processing, collaborating with packaging and processing contractors to sell online.
They cut the distribution process, which could extend from at least five to as many as eight stages.
This allowed them to pay farmers more and supply the final consumers at lower prices.
A month later, another piece of news arrived.
“In addition to livestock and poultry farms, we have also started direct purchases of their by-products like milk, dairy products, and eggs.”
“That’s great news.”
“But the industry is in chaos. They say Jungle is trying to monopolize everything.”
As prices kept dropping, it was only natural for retail stores to voice their complaints.
However, even if Jungle didn’t do it, the innovation heading in that direction wouldn’t stop.
“We can’t help it. If we don’t do it, Online Grocery will increase its market share.”
Online Grocery is a subsidiary of Give and Take, which entered Jeju this year.
In the world, where there is always a pioneering company, followers exist. The moment Jungle established its base in Jeju, Online Grocery set up camp.
They benchmarked Jungle in almost every aspect.
If there were plagiarism in distribution, it could be dragged to court right away, as they copied quite blatantly.
However, Lee Hyun-woo didn’t mind.
“Rather, I welcome it.”
No matter how well Jungle established its dominant market position, it couldn’t monopolize everything.
Nor should it.
In Korea, there is the Fair Trade Commission, which monitors the monopoly system of any single company.
At least one similar company needs to exist to avoid obstacles.
“Let them follow at a reasonable pace.”
Thinking of Ray Burin and Mihail Feis’s faces, Lee Hyun-woo smiled deeply.
The person who was really angry at them was Oh Min-woo.
Hey, don’t you think you guys are going too far?
Why?
What are you talking about?
You’re copying all of Jungle’s systems! Changing 24-hour delivery to One-day delivery, even copying the overnight order and dawn delivery. Have some conscience.
Sorry, but we don’t interfere with the Korean subsidiary.
Right, we guarantee the independence of each subsidiary, so we didn’t know.
Don’t lie.
It’s true, really.
Yes, believe us. Also, it’s a bit unfair because your chairman said something before.
What is it?
That it’s okay to borrow anything from Jungle.
Right. That’s why we’re renting the warehouse now, and our subsidiary’s representative is probably doing the delivery tailored to the Korean situation.
Oh Min-woo frowned.
It was extremely annoying that they were shifting responsibility to the Korean subsidiary and slipping away.
But since they said Lee Hyun-woo allowed everything, he stopped the chat and went straight to the chairman’s office.
“Chairman Hyung-nim.”
“Yes, what is it?”
These days, Lee Hyun-woo didn’t stop Oh Min-woo from addressing him like this.
Times had changed. He saw the way he was addressed as a symbol of the freedom and independence he granted to each subsidiary representative.
However, listening to Oh Min-woo’s complaints as if he was losing out, he felt the need to clarify the management policy.
“Do you think we’re just giving everything away?”
“Isn’t that so? It feels like we’re sharing a market we could dominate more.”
“That’s not true. There will definitely be a synergy effect. Furthermore, they could become partners that change the world together.”
“It’s hard to understand without specifics.”
“It’s a waste of time. I can’t explain everything every time. Therefore, it’s homework.”
“Homework?”
“How will the synergy effect occur? Why do I consider them partners in changing the world together?”
“You mean to guess what’s in your mind? It’s not proven yet.”
“When my prediction is proven, it will be analyzed as a result. Why would I give such homework?”
“Hmm… Got it.”
A few days later, like a student presenting his homework, Oh Min-woo recited the synergy effects.
“We can achieve economies of scale. If not only us but also Online Grocery purchases specific items, the prices will go down, right?”
“Good.”
“And if they pursue a similar profit model in Jeju and succeed, it could accelerate similar trends.”
“Exactly. That’s what we call the ‘bandwagon effect.’”
In short, if Jungle’s fast delivery becomes a trend, everyone will start following it, and eventually, no one will be left out.
This affects not only companies but also the public.
The more consumers use fast delivery, the stronger its spread becomes, creating a multiplier effect that widely impacts other consumers.
As time passed, orders for 24-hour delivery were increasing explosively.
“Lastly, because Online Grocery is a foreign company, they have an advantage. If they succeed in our country, they might try it in the U.S. as well.”
“Well, that’s not easy. It succeeded because it’s our country.”
“Is that so?”
“America is vast. 24-hour delivery isn’t feasible there.”
“It’s the first time I’m proud of our small land.”
“Moreover, their people are laid-back. On the other hand, our people?”
“They need to handle things quickly to be satisfied. Hmm, I feel proud of this too. Some used to say it was a flaw.”
“They did.”
“Based on this, we can expand our thinking. A land of similar size to ours. It’s not just about infrastructure; it must encompass both online and offline and have a culture of quick handling.”
“Good, now you have another homework. Find such places.”
“Well, connecting the mainland would be faster than that?”
Lee Hyun-woo smiled and nodded.
‘As I expected, he didn’t take long.’
Oh Min-woo was indeed a genius. There’s an order to things. If this model succeeded in Jeju, it was worth trying on the mainland as well.
It didn’t seem too difficult.
Seeing the daily increasing sales of Jungle Communication and Online Grocery, there was no way that domestic and foreign followers wouldn’t target the metropolitan area.
Thus, the economy of scale that Oh Min-woo mentioned could be achieved faster in the metropolitan area than in Jeju.
But that was for later, and the more immediate matter was Online Grocery’s business expansion.
『Another giant logistics center to be built in Jeju!』
The reason it was labeled ‘giant’ was simple.
Jungle had already built something of that scale.
The logistics center built by Jungle in Jeju was a five-story building above ground and five-story underground, equivalent to 15 soccer fields.
Without such a scale, it couldn’t be labeled as ‘giant,’ and Online Grocery’s new logistics center showed their ambition.
‘I remember what they said before.’
Ray Burin and Mihail Feis said they targeted the mainland of Korea, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Japan, centering on Jeju.
Lee Hyun-woo had envisioned global online shopping of the 21st century back then, which was ‘overseas direct purchase.’
In other words, a business that supplies products produced overseas directly to Korean consumers via Jungle Communication or vice versa, supplying domestically produced goods to overseas consumers.
‘How long will it take to reach that point?’
It wouldn’t be a short time.
No matter how advanced transportation, logistics, and IT technology became, free trade agreements needed to be in place first.
Besides, there needed to be a fast customs clearance system for express cargo.
Both domestically and overseas.
‘What should I do until then?’
Efforts were needed to shorten that time, but perfect preparation was also necessary to be ready for the opening of the overseas direct purchase route.
So, one thing came to mind.
‘Jeju needs a bigger airport and port.’
This was in the realm of administration, but fortunately, Jeju Governor Goo Chang-mo was very close to Lee Hyun-woo.
If he painted a vision of the future, wouldn’t he act on it immediately?
Indeed, when he met Goo Chang-mo a while later, his eyes sparkled upon hearing Lee Hyun-woo’s words.
