Home Shopping Networks Compete to Support Promising Small Brands

Home shopping networks are focusing on discovering and nurturing promising small brands. As the TV home shopping market continues to shrink, these companies are strengthening coexistence management to expand sales channels for small businesses while enhancing their competitive edge with differentiated products. The scope of support has also expanded from TV and mobile sales to include product development, marketing, offline experiences, and international expansion.
 
According to industry sources, NS Home Shopping is operating a pop-up store for its partner 'Everfit' at the Beauty Play Hongdae location until September 30. This initiative allows consumers to experience products and purchase them online via QR codes, thereby increasing offline access to products that were previously sold primarily online. NS Home Shopping is also supporting the development of overseas sales channels. The company formed a global market exploration team with four small food business partners and participated in the Hong Kong Food Expo from August 13 to 15, providing support for consultations with overseas buyers and local market research.
 
Hyundai Home Shopping is gradually nurturing promising small beauty brands. As part of the 'TOPS' program, organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Small Business Distribution Center, 60 small beauty businesses have been selected for support in product development, live commerce, and entry into its offline beauty store 'Coasis' until October. This follows a first phase of support in April, which involved 300 businesses, and aims to identify companies with high growth potential. Among these, three outstanding brands will receive support for TV home shopping broadcasts and overseas pop-up stores in November and December.
 
CJ OnStyle is linking brand development with investment and global expansion. Through its 'CJ On-Cubating' program, it has discovered over 80 brands in three years, with the combined sales of selected brands in the first half of this year increasing approximately 16 times compared to the second half of 2023. This year, 30 brands will be selected, and a dedicated fund of 11 billion won will be established. This month, it launched a combined growth and social contribution brand 'ON:DO' and is operating a 60 billion won coexistence fund with IBK Industrial Bank to support partners with commercialization funds, product development, sales channel expansion, and global entry.
 
GS Shop has also selected 20 out of 85 companies for its small business support program 'On&Up.' These companies will receive at least five broadcasts with no sales commission, consulting from product planners, and up to 7 million won for video production costs. Last year's selected 12 partners achieved approximately 900 million won in order performance.
 
The expansion of support for small businesses by home shopping companies is influenced by the stagnation of their traditional TV-focused operations. According to the Korea Home Shopping Association, the total transaction amount for seven home shopping companies last year was 18.5053 trillion won, a 5.1% decrease from the previous year, marking a decline for four consecutive years since 2021. Broadcast sales also fell to 2.6181 trillion won, a 0.9% decrease, the lowest level since 2012. The proportion of broadcast sales in total revenue dropped below half for the first time last year, standing at 46.7%.
 
An industry insider stated, "Recent coexistence management has expanded beyond simple sales support to nurturing promising small brands together. This creates a mutually beneficial structure where small businesses gain growth opportunities, and home shopping networks secure differentiated products."