Big Universal Mall
GS Home Shopping, the retail arm of the GS Group, said on July 22 that it has teamed up with Russia’s state-run telecommunications firm Rostelecom PJSC to launch a new home shopping channel in Russia.
The two companies signed a US$20 million deal in Moscow on the day to operate a joint firm Big Universal Mall LCC. GS will invest 40 percent or US$8 million of the necessary capital while the Russian company will do the remaining funds.
By cooperating with Russia’s biggest state-run telecommunications company, the Korean home shopping channel is expected to have a smooth entry into the Russian home shopping market.
Rostelecom provides services for more than 34 million households in Russia, leading the country’s broadband and paid television market with more than 8 million cable TV and IPTV subscribers.
GS Home Shopping runs home shopping businesses currently in seven overseas countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. Its overseas sales reached 681.8 billion won (US$591.4 million) in 2013 and 894.1 billion won (US$769.7 million) last year.