Provisional Results for 2024 Announced
Record-High Sales... First Operating Profit in Five Years
Kakao Style, the operator of Zigzag, announced on the 1st that it achieved its highest-ever sales by surpassing 200 billion KRW in revenue last year. Operating profit turned positive for the first time in five years.
Last year, the combined transaction amount of Kakao Style's Zigzag and Posty approached 2 trillion KRW. Kakao Style's sales have continued to grow annually, recording 165 billion KRW in 2023 after reaching 100 billion KRW for the first time in 2022.
Last year's operating profit was generated as recent cost structure efficiencies yielded visible results. Kakao Style reduced its operating loss from 51.8 billion KRW in 2022 to 19.8 billion KRW in 2023. Last year's EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) reached 8 billion KRW.
The company also laid the foundation for long-term growth by acquiring a large number of new buyers. The number of new buyers on Zigzag increased by 40% compared to the previous year, and the total number of buyers grew by 20% year-over-year.
Traffic growth was also remarkable. According to Kakao Style's internal data, Zigzag's monthly active users (MAU), which were around 4 to 5 million in January last year, steadily increased in the second half of the year, reaching nearly 7 million in November and December. The number of new app installations last year also approached 5 million, pushing the cumulative number of Zigzag app installs beyond 50 million.
Kakao Style plans to expand its business more aggressively this year. It aims to evolve into a hyper-personalized platform where individuals define their style and connect it with technology. Additionally, it plans to significantly enhance customer experience by onboarding new "Instagrammable" products.
Kim Young-gil, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Kakao Style, said, "This year will be a turning point presenting a new paradigm for K-commerce. Kakao Style will provide customers with the most intuitive and enjoyable shopping experience through hyper-personalized AI recommendations and advanced content commerce, while offering sellers sales leverage effects through growth."
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