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海擇短評 Haize Comment：
近期，韓國發生了同時重創電商與旅遊行業的"티메프 사태(Timonf Incident)"。起因是韓國的兩家電商平台Timon和WeMakePrice，在現金流陷入危機時，挪用了必須支付供應商的貨款，導致大規模的債務危機。最後Timon和WeMakePrice在7月29日申請企業重整、7月30日申請保全處分(公司不能隨意處置其資產或償還債務人)後，讓供應鏈的金流變得更複雜，其中，旅行社受創猶深。
Timon和WeMakePrice是兩家較為知名的韓國電商購物平台，這兩家公司都以Qoo10為主要持股股東，而Qoo10是一家由具英培(Ku Young-bae)創立的跨境電商平台。而在韓國的電商格局中， Timon和WeMakePrice的市場佔有率與規模相比於韓國的主要電商平台如Coupang、Gmarket和11st等略遜一籌。競爭者Coupang(NASDAQ: CPNG)為市場領先者，以快速配送聞名，擁有龐大的用戶基礎；Gmarket由eBay擁有，提供多種商品，有國際買家資源；11st則為SK Group旗下平台，商品多元化；相較而言，Timon和WeMakePrice背後的Qoo10，近年在亞洲的國際化並不順利。這場危機也突顯了韓國電商市場中的激烈競爭以及中小型電商平台在面對市場壓力時的脆弱性。
Timon和WeMakePrice的的債務危機之所以衝擊到韓國的旅遊行業，海擇資本認為原因有二：
1. 事件爆發前：電商平台成為旅遊行業的分銷通路之一，全球也不少見，Costco(NYSE: COST)的電商平台在美國也賣住宿與郵輪套裝產品。主要問題在於，而在現金流不順之際，Timon和WeMakePrice優先選擇延遲結算旅遊行業供應商的帳款，這可能是因為團隊旅遊產品既涉及大量現金，而按照所簽署合約的不同，可能有預付款項與押金，佣金是旅客出行後才結算，導致資金回流較慢。在風險爆發之際乾脆選擇不支付。
2. 事件爆發後：在消費者申請退款時，由於公司已進入"保全處分"狀態，金流到Timon和WeMakePrice會被自動扣住；而用戶若選擇直接向旅行社退款，又會基於旅行社是否已與這兩家公司結算、以及信用卡/Payment Gateway公司的佣金爭議出現多項困擾。
坦白說，遇到這類已爆發的風控問題時，旅行社多會處於弱勢，無論在供應鏈中的消費款是否已經結算到旅行社，旅客都會認為旅行社有出團的責任，旅行社送多少積分或折扣券都無法解決收不到退款或不能出團的憤怒。對於本次事件，韓國文化運動觀光部針對旅行社進行了"600億韓元貸款的二次保護計畫(利率2.5%至3.0%)"，言外之意，就是要旅行社先吸收未拿到的結算款，未來待Timon和WeMakePrice重整完成後再取得結算款，那如果這兩家公司最後現金不足以全額支付呢？
海擇資本認為，這是個衝擊到行業生態的事件，這將促使各旅行社更關注於經營公司的直銷能力(無論有機或付費流量)，未來在合約上的風控條款，也會更趨嚴謹。
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Recently, South Korea experienced the "Timonf Incident," which severely impacted both the e-commerce and travel industries. The crisis began when two e-commerce platforms, Timon and WeMakePrice, misappropriated funds meant for suppliers during a cash flow crisis, leading to widespread debt issues. On July 29, both companies filed for corporate restructuring, followed by a preservation order on July 30, complicating the supply chain's cash flow and significantly affecting travel agencies.
Timon and WeMakePrice, known e-commerce platforms in Korea, are primarily owned by Qoo10, a cross-border e-commerce platform founded by Ku Young-bae. In the Korean e-commerce landscape, they lag behind leading platforms like Coupang, Gmarket, and 11st in market share and scale. Coupang (NASDAQ: CPNG) leads with its rapid delivery and large user base; Gmarket, owned by eBay, offers a wide range of products with access to international buyers; 11st, under SK Group, features diverse products. In contrast, Qoo10's international expansion in Asia has struggled in recent years. This crisis highlights the intense competition in the Korean e-commerce market and the vulnerability of smaller platforms under market pressure.
The debt crisis of Timon and WeMakePrice impacted South Korea's travel industry for two main reasons:
1. **Before the crisis**: E-commerce platforms served as distribution channels for the travel industry globally, similar to Costco (NYSE: COST) selling accommodation and cruise packages in the U.S. The primary issue was that during cash flow shortages, Timon and WeMakePrice prioritized delaying payments to travel industry suppliers. This choice was likely due to group travel products involving significant cash transactions, with varying contract terms for advance payments, deposits, and commissions settled after travel, leading to slow capital return. In a crisis, they chose simply not to pay.
2. **After the crisis**: When consumers sought refunds, the funds directed to Timon and WeMakePrice were automatically withheld due to their "preservation order" status. If customers opted to seek refunds directly from travel agencies, multiple issues arose, depending on whether the agencies had settled with these companies and disputes over credit card/Payment Gateway commissions.
Frankly, travel agencies often find themselves at a disadvantage when faced with such risk management crises. Regardless of whether payments within the supply chain have been settled to the travel agencies, tourists hold the agencies responsible for conducting the tours. Offering points or discount coupons does little to quell the anger from not receiving refunds or being unable to embark on tours. In response to this incident, the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism implemented a "60 billion KRW Secondary Protection Loan Plan (interest rates between 2.5% to 3.0%)" for travel agencies. This implies that travel agencies are expected to absorb the unsettled payments, with hopes of retrieving them after Timon and WeMakePrice restructure. However, there's uncertainty whether these companies will have sufficient funds to fully settle their debts eventually.
Haize Capital believes that this event will impact the industry ecosystem, prompting travel agencies to focus more on direct sales capabilities (both organic and paid traffic) and to adopt more stringent risk management clauses in future contracts.
標籤 Label： Timon WeMakePrice e-commerce Travel agency Korea