[Click e-Stock] "NAVER Expected to Achieve 20% Commerce Revenue Growth Through Kurly Partnership"

On April 21, Hanwha Investment & Securities analyzed that NAVER's strategic partnership with Kurly is expected to drive the expansion of its commerce business, projecting that this year's commerce revenue will grow by 20% compared to the previous year.

Kim So-hye, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, stated, "Collaboration with Kurly will help NAVER address its weakness in the fresh food segment," adding, "Kurly's diverse product categories and competitive pricing will contribute to growth in gross merchandise value (GMV)." The firm maintained its 'Buy' investment rating and a target price of 300,000 KRW for NAVER.

NAVER and Kurly officially announced their strategic partnership on April 18. Within this year, Kurly is expected to join the Naver Plus Store, and more detailed business collaborations and strategies will be disclosed in the second or third quarter. There are expectations that the partnership will go beyond simple service integration to include joint marketing and the development of subscription service products.

There was also mention of the potential for NAVER to invest in or acquire a stake in Kurly in the future. Recently, Kurly announced a buyback of its own shares worth a total of 15 billion KRW, which puts its current corporate value at approximately 630 billion KRW. This is a significant decrease compared to the 2.9 trillion KRW valuation assessed when Anchor PE invested in 2023.

NAVER's commerce revenue for this year is projected to be around 3.5 trillion KRW. Kim noted, "With the recently announced policy to increase commerce commission fees and the partnership announcement with Kurly, the expansion of NAVER's commerce business is expected to accelerate each quarter this year." She also pointed out, "Although the performance of the Naver Plus Store application has not yet been disclosed, the rebound in on-platform GMV and shopping search ad growth rates is expected to become even steeper."