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Baek Jong-won, CEO of Theborn Korea (Photo: JTBC) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] According to the retail industry on Wednesday, Theborn Korea recently removed its "Paik Ham" gift set from the product list on its official shopping platform, Theborn Mall. After facing a pricing controversy during the Lunar New Year holiday period, the product had been marked as "sold out," but now all four related items have been completely deleted.
Although "Paik Ham" ranks as the top search term on Theborn Mall, the product is no longer available for purchase. It can only be found on select third-party online shopping platforms. Last month, CEO Baek Jong-won announced on his YouTube channel that the canned ham set, originally priced at 51,900 KRW, would be sold at a 45% discount for 28,500 KRW.
However, consumers pointed out that Paik Ham was more expensive than Spam despite having a lower pork content. While Baek defended the pricing by citing high production costs and a special seasoning formula, public backlash grew over suspicions that the company had artificially inflated the original price to create the illusion of a steep discount.
This is not the first controversy involving Baek. In June last year, franchise owners of Theborn Korea’s “Yeondon Ball Katsu” brand accused the company of exaggerating expected sales during franchise recruitment and neglecting profitability issues. The franchisees filed a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission, citing violations of franchise business laws.
As of the first half of last year, Paik’s Coffee (Paikdabang) generated 78.9 billion KRW in revenue, accounting for 44.6% of Theborn Korea’s total sales. Hong Kong Banjum followed with 26.9 billion KRW (15.2%), while other brands under the company’s umbrella showed relatively weaker performance.
In November last year, Theborn Korea’s IPO drew significant attention, with a subscription competition ratio surpassing 770:1. On its debut day, the stock price soared to 64,500 KRW, nearly doubling the offering price of 34,000 KRW. However, by February this year, the price had fallen to the 20,000 KRW range. During the IPO, a large volume of unsubscribed employee shares surfaced, leading to speculation that insiders were skeptical about the stock’s future performance despite Baek’s public popularity.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
