Just a year since its establishment in May 2014, the venture company has grown to become one of the largest e-commerce operators tailored for Chinese consumers here. PandaKorea.com, the company’s website, has garnered 2 million members from China since its launch on Oct. 7, 2014.

It has partnered with TMall, run by Alibaba, Union Pay mall, as well as Chinese cosmetics website meilishou to sell Korean products made by mostly local small- and midsize companies.

Panda Korea now aims to sell 100,000 kinds of goods by Nov. 11 and hopes to generate 100 billion won in sales by the end of 2016 through two offline stores in Seoul and six more scheduled to open next year in China. The company is also pushing for initial public offerings in Korea and China around the same time.

But perhaps what makes the company unique is its marketing strategy of mixing entertainment with retail. 

In December 2014, the company teamed up with entertainment agency Keyeast -- which became the second largest shareholder of Panda Korea – and started selling K-pop stars’ souvenirs. Pan-Asia celebrity Kim Soo-hyun, who has signed up with Keyeast, invested 2 billion won in the company, while Keyeast founder and top screen actor Bae Yong-joon invested 1 billion.

“Panda Korea has a unique business model of being an enter-commerce company,” said the company CEO Lee Jong-sik during his interview with The Korea Herald on Tuesday.

“Combined with our goal of becoming a global ‘B2B2C’ operator, we are confident that we will secure our position as the No. 1 Korean (goods) seller in China,” the journalist-turned-politician-turned-businessmen said.

For instance, the company invested in the production of KBS TV drama, “The Producers,” which featured Kim Soo-hyun, who had attracted billions of won in product placement deals in the show, which has gained wide popularity in China. Merchandise such as Kim Soo-hyun calendars, mugs and notebooks are sold exclusively at PandaKorea.com.

The company also has secured 100 seats for TV pop chart shows as well as K-pop concerts in order to promote its package tours to Korea.

Moreover, Keyeast will produce promotional videos for some of the items sold at PandaKorea.com. These video clips will also be distributed via major Chinese online media platforms, including Sohu TV, QI, Yuku, Tencent TV and others.

“Video clips are widely used in Chinese e-commerce sites because they give you more precise information about the product by showing the goods from 360 degree angles. We are also planning to make it fancier by adding the scenery of Myeong-dong in central Seoul where the products are also sold at our offline Panda Korea Shop,” Lee said.

The glitzy-glamor of showbiz is just a part of what Panda Korea has to offer, Lee said. In order to contain consumers’ anxiety over whether they are buying fabricated items, Lee established the Korea Original Product Certificate Authority, which certifies the authenticity of the origin of products sold at not only Pandakorea.com but others.

The company has also teamed up with local governments and businessmen to guarantee swift delivery, right from Korea to China.

“It takes a day or two for the customs process and an extra day for delivery to megalopolises. For the second- or third-tier cities it takes 2-3 more days. But it still takes less than a week to receive items, which is quicker than buying the same products straight from amazon.com,” Lee said.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)