Market Kurly's Sales Reach 1.5614 Trillion KRW Last Year, Up 64% YoY

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Kurly, the operator of Market Kurly, announced on the 31st that its sales last year reached 1.5614 trillion KRW, a 64% increase compared to the previous year.

The net loss increased from 222.4 billion KRW in 2020 to 1.2903 trillion KRW last year. Market Kurly explained, “This is not a loss due to actual cost increases, but an accounting illusion caused by recognizing preferred shares as liabilities,” adding, “By converting all preferred shares to common shares at the end of last year, the book loss has already been resolved and will not apply from this fiscal year onward.”

Contribution profit has been positive for three consecutive years since 2019. Contribution profit refers to the amount remaining after deducting variable costs from sales. A positive contribution profit means that once infrastructure investments are mostly completed, the structure is in place to turn profitable. In fact, the contribution profit in major Seoul and Gyeonggi areas, where many long-term Market Kurly users reside, is up to six times higher than the average of other regions. The average monthly order amount per customer who has used the service for four consecutive years increased approximately 3.8 times.

The cumulative number of registered customers surpassed 10 million, a 43% increase from the previous year. The repurchase rate of new customers is 75%, which is three times higher than the industry average. According to Mobile Index, an app activity analytics firm, Market Kurly’s monthly active users in January this year reached 3.07 million, a 36% increase compared to the same period last year.

Last year, Kurly expanded the proportion of non-food products to 33%. Through this, sales volume increased 3.1 times in beauty products and 2.3 times in home appliances compared to the previous year. Since April last year, travel products such as accommodation and airline tickets have also been introduced, further boosting sales.

Advertising expenses relative to sales last year were 43.5 billion KRW, the lowest proportion ever at 2.8%. Kurly’s advertising-to-sales ratio has been decreasing, from 8.4% in 2019 to 3.1% in 2020.

Kurly made bold upfront investments in infrastructure last year. The operating loss of 217.7 billion KRW incurred last year was due to these efforts. By adding the Gimpo logistics center in March last year, order processing capacity increased 2.3 times, and the area eligible for dawn delivery expanded significantly from the metropolitan area to Chungcheong, Daegu, Busan, and Ulsan. The tech workforce also grew from 100 to over 200, accounting for 20% of all office employees.

Meanwhile, Kurly submitted a preliminary review application for listing on the Korea Exchange’s KOSPI market on the 28th and is pursuing the first domestic e-commerce IPO.

Kim Jong-hoon, Kurly’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), said, “Kurly created the huge market of dawn delivery for the first time in the world and maintains a solid leadership position in this area,” adding, “This year, we will further strengthen our status as an everyday shopping platform where various shopping options are available.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.