[비즈한국] It has been three months since Oasis Market, a company specializing in early morning delivery, acquired Timon. While Oasis decided to acquire Timon with the hope of leaping into a comprehensive online mall, it is currently struggling, unable to even resume services. In particular, as complaints regarding compensation for damages from the "Timon crisis" are directed at Oasis, negative public opinion is spreading, placing a burden on the company’s brand image.
July, August, September... Relaunch Schedule Delayed
After the court mandated the approval of Timon's rehabilitation plan this past June, Oasis Market became the new owner of Timon. Following the acquisition, Oasis Market moved quickly to prepare for the resumption of Timon’s services. It consecutively released "reopening teaser" videos through its official social media channels, aiming for a mid-July relaunch.
However, the service resumption schedule continued to be delayed. Oasis Market had confirmed the Timon service resumption date as August 11 but suddenly announced a delay just five days before the opening. The company stated that it would wait until the corporate rehabilitation process was formally concluded to ensure stable service provision.
Although Timon officially exited court receivership on August 22 after concluding the rehabilitation process, it remains unable to resume services. While it had initially announced a September 10 resumption, it abruptly announced an indefinite postponement on the 1st of this month. The stated reason is that victims of the Timon crisis, unhappy with the lack of proper compensation, filed complaints with credit card companies and others, leading those companies to re-examine their contracts with Timon.
Regarding this, Timon held a "meeting to restore trust with partners and strengthen win-win cooperation" on the 3rd, explaining, "Public opinion is poor due to the backlash from affected consumers and businesses. While we have completed contracts with Payment Gateway (PG) companies, we are facing difficulties with credit card companies due to issues like consumer and seller complaints."
Some observers suggest that the background of Timon’s delayed relaunch involves more than just simple payment issues. An industry official said, "To secure competitiveness as a comprehensive mall, a certain level of product variety is essential. However, with Timon's workforce reduced to one-tenth of its original size, it would not be easy for Oasis, which specializes in fresh produce, to secure a diverse range of sellers in a short period. It is possible that they are delaying the schedule because they judge that the current number of sellers is insufficient to open in the form of a comprehensive mall."
In response, an official from Oasis Market explained, "As product variety is the most important factor for a fresh start, we first focused on contracts with existing sellers. Internal preparations are complete, but the opening is being delayed due to external variables. If the online payment issue is resolved, an immediate relaunch is possible. We are continuing relevant discussions, but it is difficult to confirm a specific opening date."
Will the Timon Acquisition Turn into a Brand Risk for Oasis?
Oasis Market has built an image as a "humble but honest company" by providing fresh food at reasonable prices. However, since the acquisition of Timon, cracks have begun to appear in the positive image it had cultivated.
Among the victims of the Timon crisis, dissatisfaction with the low repayment rate (0.75%) is being directed at Oasis, fueling negative public sentiment. One victim expressed their frustration, saying, "I previously had a good impression of Oasis, but my disappointment grew after the acquisition of Timon. I feel betrayed that they seem indifferent to compensating victims while keeping the Timon name."
There are even signs of a boycott movement emerging, with members of online communities for Timon crisis victims calling to "boycott Oasis, which bought Timon without restoring the damages, and delete our accounts."
In fact, Oasis Market’s usage metrics are on a downward trend. According to Mobile Index, a data tech firm, the Monthly Active Users (MAU) of the Oasis Market app dropped from about 490,000 in May to 470,000 in June, immediately after the acquisition. While it managed to hover around 470,000 in July, it fell further to 440,000 in August.
Lee Jong-woo, a professor of business administration at Ajou University, analyzed, "When reports first emerged that Oasis would acquire Timon, they gained a temporary promotional effect, but it is highly likely that as that effect diluted after the acquisition, it led to a decline in MAU."
Recently, Wemakeprice entered bankruptcy proceedings. Although the chicken franchise Genesis BBQ had initially submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire Wemakeprice, it did not proceed to the actual acquisition stage. Industry insiders suggest that BBQ, which had shown interest in acquiring Wemakeprice, changed its stance after observing the situation following Oasis Market's acquisition of Timon. The observation that even Timon could not smoothly resume services and faced various hurdles led to the conclusion that acquiring Wemakeprice was also a high-risk venture, eventually leading to their withdrawal.
Seo Yong-gu, a professor at Sookmyung Women's University’s School of Business, assessed the situation by saying, "(Oasis's acquisition of Timon) can be seen as a classic example of a flawed acquisition. While funds were invested, the strategic utilization is insufficient, leading to problems."
An Oasis Market official stated, "We have invested a significant amount of tangible and intangible assets into the acquisition and opening of Timon, so it is a difficult situation internally as we have not yet started services. Even if we wanted to broaden the scope of compensation for the Timon crisis, our current company size lacks the capacity. Instead, we have set commission rates at the lowest possible level with the intention of sharing profits generated after opening with sellers as much as possible. Since Timon is making a fresh start under new management, we hope it will be viewed separately from the past crisis."