Naver Corp., a South Korean technology company, has agreed to purchase Poshmark Inc., e-commerce company, for $1.2 billion with the aim to build the most robust system for reshaping commerce and empowering communities.
Korea is one of three countries, along with China and Russia, where Google is not the leading search engine. Thus, Naver can be regarded of as “the Google of Korea,” and is the home to the most South Korean bloggers and the most digital stories via services like Wattpad and Webtoon.
Wattpad, a Toronto-based company that provides a platform for reading and writing creative stories, was purchased by Naver on May 10, 2021 for $600 million. Also the Webtoon, which is one of the world’s largest webcomics communities, offering a wide variety of genres in over 30 different languages.
With these acquisition, now for $17.90 per share, Naver acquired Poshmark. Although this pricing is lower than Poshmark’s worth when the firm first went public at $42 per share, it is 15% higher than its value of $15.57 at the start of the week.
Poshmark and Naver announced their partnership on October 3. Through this agreememt, Poshmark will have access to Naver’s enormous user base and technological offerings. Naver on the other hand, will help South Korea advance in the resale industry in North America.
According to Choi Sooyeon, Naver CEO, Poshmark is the leading fashion brand in the US that offers a social network for buying and selling clothing. And its next stage of international expansion will be fueled by Naver’s cutting-edge search, AI recommendation, and e-commerce solutions. Hence, the partnership will build the most robust system for reshaping commerce and empowering communities.
As part of the deal, Naver also intends to partner with Poshmark and support its marketing initiatives with its own services. Choi cites Weverse, an online store that offers K-pop items and enables fans to communicate with celebrities, as evidence to support this claim.
The platform is jointly owned by HYBE, a South Korean multinational entertainment company. A large part of the network’s success and popularity can be attributed to BTS, a South Korean boy group whose enormous popularity instantly brought notice to the new platform. The option to communicate with the group attracted a large following of users to the app.
Choi highlighted her confidence in the agreement during a news conference because she believes Poshmark will keep expanding in the future.
Manish Chandra, CEO of Poshmark, voiced similar comments, stating that it will alter their ability to invest in the areas that will help their community prosper for the ensuing decade and beyond.
“The future of fashion is in your closet, and I believe this future is brighter than ever.” said Chandra.
