ABS-CBN Corp., the country's leading information and entertainment multimedia conglomerate, is teaming up with South Korean conglomerate CJ Group for a new TV home shopping venture.
ABS-CBN is investing at least P200 million its joint venture with CJ O Shopping, one of the world's largest home shopping companies.
ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio Lopez III said the joint venture, A CJ O Shopping Corp., marks the company's reentry into TV home shopping business after Skymall in the 1990s.
"We closed it down a few years after and walked away with a valuable lesson: We need a strong and competent partner. ABS-CBN is in the business of reaching audiences so we needed a partner in the business of selling great products," he said.
Lopez said it found the right partner in CJ O Shopping. "Choosing the CJ Group was not a difficult one since we share a similar history and adhere to the same work culture. Our companies were both founded by families with roots in the sugar industry and were both born exactly 60 years ago," he said.
CJ O Shopping chief executive officer Harri Lee is confident the TV home shopping channel will be embraced by Filipinos.
"Home shopping business is a complex combination of the retail, broadcasting, logistics, and IT systems. Nevertheless, I express with full confidence that AC J will succeed through the synergy of CJ O Shopping’s global business expertise and ABS-CBN’s trusted image and strong influence over the Philippine population," he said.
The O Shopping channel has started broadcasting 24/7 shopping programs via SkyCable and Global Destiny on Channel 11, as well as programs through ABS-CBN’s Channel 2 and Studio 23 last October 15.
CJ O Shopping is the cable home shopping channel of South Korean conglomerate CJ Group. CJ O Shopping has entered several Asian markets, including China, India, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand.---
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
