À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Homepick delivery service. [Photo provided by SK Innovation]
South Korea¡¯s major oil refiners GS Caltex Corp. and SK Energy Co. have joined hands to launch a parcel delivery service dubbed Homepick by yielding their gas stations across the nation as hubs for package collection.
The two companies announced Wednesday that they began the service on a trial basis in Seoul and plan to make it available nationwide in September. They are cooperating with the nation¡¯s leading parcel delivery company CJ Logistics Corp. who will pick up the packages collected at their gas stations by local startup Zoomma from customers and deliver them to the final locations. Customers can make their orders via CJ Logistics¡¯ application or Homepick website.
SK Energy runs 3,552 gas stations nationwide and GS Caltex 2,553 as of the end of March. By using the gas pumps to collect packages, they can significantly reduce delivery time and enhance customer convenience. The two companies will look into ways to further expand their partnership by sharing their assets other than gas stations.
The business cooperation of the nation¡¯s top two oil refiners is not against the antitrust law as they join forces in whole new business sector unrelated to their mainstay oil businesses. They agreed to create more jobs, broaden partnership with startups and create social value by sharing their infrastructures going forward. ¡°They pursue the same goal to create new value by using gas station infra,¡± said an official close to the two firms. ¡°The partnership between the two firms that have the largest gas station network across the country is expected to create a huge synergy effect,¡± he added.
By Lee Dong-in and Choi Mira
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]