Coupang, Inc.
Building third Taiwan logistics center before profitability—ecosystem engineering requires infrastructure first, extraction second, capturing 78% year-over-year growth through logistics density.
Coupang built its third logistics center in Taiwan in 2024—before the market became profitable—because ecosystem engineering requires infrastructure first, extraction second. The company's 2024 revenue hit $30.3 billion (up 29% year-over-year) with Taiwan operations growing 78% in constant currency, yet the playbook prioritizes logistics density over immediate returns. By 2027, Coupang targets same-day or next-day Rocket Delivery coverage in 230 of Taiwan's 260 cities, requiring upfront capital for warehouses, fulfillment automation, and last-mile fleets before demand justifies the spend. This is the beaver dam strategy: modify the environment to create conditions where your competitive advantages compound, even if construction costs exceed short-term value capture.
The biological mechanism is ecosystem engineering: organisms that alter their physical environment in ways that improve their own fitness while creating barriers for competitors. Coupang's logistics network—robotics and automation reducing line-haul costs by 16%, proprietary fulfillment centers enabling sub-24-hour delivery of five million SKUs—transforms customer expectations. Once Taiwan consumers expect Korean snacks delivered in 1-2 days at prices below local retailers, competitors either match Coupang's infrastructure investments (impossible at smaller scale) or concede the market. The WOW membership program launched in Taiwan in 2025 follows Amazon Prime's playbook: convert occasional buyers into habitual users by bundling free shipping, exclusive deals, and content, then extract lifetime value through increased purchase frequency.
The financial proof appears in segment performance: Coupang's "developing offerings" (Taiwan Rocket Delivery, Farfetch, Coupang Eats, Coupang Play) generated $3.6 billion in 2024, more than quadrupling from the prior year, with Q3 2025 revenue hitting $1.3 billion (up 31% year-over-year). Taiwan's e-commerce market was $19.6 billion in 2023, projected to reach $26.8 billion by 2028, and Coupang's 78% year-over-year growth rate suggests winner-take-most dynamics as logistics density creates compounding returns. CEO Bom Kim explicitly framed Taiwan growth as yielding "higher levels of adoption and retention," signaling that infrastructure investments are converting into customer lock-in. The company forecasts ~20% annual sales growth in 2025, funded by South Korea's mature profitability subsidizing Taiwan and other expansion markets. This is invasive species colonization: establish the population before native competitors recognize the threat, build self-reinforcing advantages through infrastructure, then extract rents once the ecosystem reorganizes around your presence. Coupang's moat isn't brand or technology—it's the physical network of warehouses, trucks, and automated fulfillment systems that competitors can't replicate without matching years of accumulated capital investment.