Editor’s Note
This article highlights Coupang’s significant achievement in being ranked second globally for innovation in distribution, surpassing industry giant Amazon, according to Fast Company’s 2025 list.
![Coupang Mountain View Building in Silicon Valley, California, the United States. [Picture = Coupang]](https://wimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202503/19/news-p.v1.20250319.9e72d2853178465eb2933a49a7d7fe28_P1.jpg)
Coupang Inc. has surpassed Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company, to become the world’s second most innovative distributor.
According to the distribution industry on March 19, Coupang ranked second in the distribution category of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies in 2025” list compiled by the U.S. technology and economic media Fast Company.
Fast Company selected 609 companies that demonstrated innovative business performance across 58 industries, including automobiles, robotics, home appliances, and beauty.
Coupang was considered the second most innovative company after clothing retailer J.Crew, which ranked first in the distribution sector. Following Coupang, IKEA ranked third, the world’s largest jewelry maker Pandora ranked fourth, and Uniqlo’s parent company Fast Retailing ranked fifth. Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company, was ranked eighth.
The media also praised Coupang’s business capabilities, highlighting its acquisition of the British luxury e-commerce platform Farfetch last year, achieving a break-even point, and introducing R.lux—a beauty app equipped with innovative services that deliver luxury goods on the same day in Korea.
While overall platform sales (in dollar terms) increased by 24% last year, Fast Company also gave high scores to Coupang’s future growth capabilities and potential, noting that sales of growth businesses such as Farfetch and Coupang Eats surged by 296%.
The number of global patents owned by Coupang exceeds 2,100, which has tripled over the past four years.