Santa Monica, CA-based iMALL Inc. said that Samsung Corp. will
partner with the company to launch the “Korea’s Best” export program.
Samsung will electronically load select
products into iMALL’s new shopping portal, Stuff.com. Additionally, Samsung will kick off
the agreement with a $200,000 commitment for Web site promotion on the iMALL
network of media properties, including the Stuff.com product-level search
engine and imall.com, an online mall.
The “Korea’s Best” program will enable Korean merchants of all sizes to sell
their products online to the U.S. marketplace. Samsung will participate as an
intermediary, providing an online product mall as well as promotion, and the
Korean government will provide guarantees to U.S.-based Web shoppers to make
them comfortable with the security and shipping associated with purchasing
international products through the Web.
“We were impressed by iMALL’s experience in e-commerce and their ability to
package their services and Web media properties to meet our needs,” said Lee
Keum Ryoung, director of Internet business development for Samsung..
iMALL executives will participate in a partnership launch ceremony in Korea
later this month, and will conduct several joint speaking engagements with the
Korean companies that are providing products for the “Korea’s Best” program.
Samsung, with $96 billion in revenue, leads Korea’s international trading
activities and exported to the U.S. $16.5 billion and imported $5.2 billion
worth of goods in 1998.
The company said it plans to expand its Internet business with worldwide
partnerships with leading Internet companies.