Kwangdong Pharmaceutical, Dongwha Pharm, and Pulmuone Food have submitted bids in the competition to secure the distribution rights for Jeju Samdasoo bottled water. Nongshim decided to forgo participation in the bidding after careful consideration.
According to the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Development Corporation on the 24th, the bidding for selecting a consignment seller to handle the distribution of Samdasoo outside Jeju has closed at 6 p.m. that day. This project has expanded its scope to include all distribution channels nationwide, beyond just Jeju and the company's online mall.
Kwangdong Pharmaceutical has been engaged in retail sales of Jeju Samdasoo for the 13th year since 2013. Last year, Samdasoo sales accounted for 3.196 billion won out of 9.748 billion won in total revenue, about 33%. If it loses the distribution rights for Jeju Samdasoo, it could face a sudden drop of 33% in sales.
Pulmuone Food also participated in the bidding. This is the first time Pulmuone's subsidiary has entered the Jeju Samdasoo distribution competition. Pulmuone Food, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pulmuone, engages in domestic food manufacturing, including tofu, noodles, and vegetables, as well as health care manufacturing and food service distribution. Pulmuone has previously entered the bottled water market through its subsidiary, Pulmuone Water.
Dongwha Pharm, which is pursuing business diversification, also participated in the bidding.
Nongshim did not enter the bidding. Nongshim has handled the distribution of Jeju Samdasoo since 1998 for 14 years. Recently, it has been targeting the bottled water market with Baiksan. A Nongshim official noted, "There are overlapping areas with Baiksan, and we are trying to focus more on Baiksan." Nongshim's bottled water brand Baiksan holds about 8% market share, ranking third after Jeju Samdasoo (40%) and LOTTE Chilsung Beverage's Isis (13%).
The Jeju Development Corporation plans to conduct the proposal presentation and evaluation process on the 29th through a randomly selected evaluation committee composed of seven experts.
After quantitative evaluation (30 points) and qualitative evaluation (70 points), the company with a total score of 70 points or more will be selected as a preferred negotiation partner on the 30th based on the highest scores, and the decision will be made through the negotiation process.