In the first quarter of this year, Kurly, which achieved its first quarterly profit since its founding, is gearing up for expansion into the U.S. Kurly recently announced that it opened its official U.S. account "KurlyUSA" on the social networking services (SNS) Instagram and Threads and plans to enter the U.S. as early as July. It appears that this will be in the form of cross-border direct purchasing of Kurly's products sold domestically.

According to the distribution industry on the 22nd, Kurly is reviewing the establishment of the KurlyUSA mall for its cross-border direct purchasing business in the U.S. Last September, Kurly tested the U.S. market by placing home meal replacement (HMR) products in H Mart in the U.S. In 2022, it opened brand stores in Singapore's RedMart and Hong Kong's TV Mall to sell frozen convenience meals. However, this is the first time it is creating a separate shopping mall targeting overseas customers.

The SNS account for KurlyUSA contains specific plans for its U.S. business. It is reported that the goal is to ship products sold at Kurly to the entire U.S. within 48 hours after ordering, and negotiations are underway with a courier company.

In response, Kurly showed cautious reactions. A Kurly official noted, "It is true that we are preparing for our U.S. business using the cross-border direct purchasing method, but nothing has been concretized yet," adding, "The SNS account was opened by that division for market research purposes, and all mentioned details are not true."

Graphic=Son Min-kyun

Industry analysts say that Kurly, which achieved a profit this quarter through structural stabilization efforts over the past few years, is attempting to expand its overseas market.

Kurly revolutionized the domestic distribution industry in 2015 by offering a service to receive online orders for fresh produce with early morning delivery (specially delivery), but it had to bear annual losses of hundreds of billions of won due to large-scale investments made for this purpose. Operating losses, which were at 5.3 billion won in 2015, ballooned to 233.5 billion won by 2022.

However, as a result of internalizing the logistics sector and focusing on establishing a foundation through technology and data, the operating loss was reduced to 18.3 billion won last year, and an adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) profit was achieved. This year, the operating profit was approximately 1.8 billion won in the first quarter, breaking away from the previous loss trend.

Last year, Kurly's revenue was 2.1956 trillion won, a 6% increase from the previous year, while its gross merchandise volume (GMV) rose 12% to 3.1148 trillion won. Compared to the domestic online shopping growth rate (5.8% based on transaction volume), this growth rate is high.

However, the market suggests that since many e-commerce platforms offer services similar to Kurly's, new growth drivers are needed. This analysis indicates that Kurly's collaboration with Naver to start Kurly services on Naver Plus Store this year is part of its efforts to expand its customer base.

Additionally, the popularity of K-food and K-beauty in overseas markets such as North America appears to be a backdrop for Kurly's business expansion. It may be premature to speculate, but some interpret that this could lead to Kurly knocking on the IPO market door again based on its performance in the U.S. market.

Kim Seul-ah, the representative of Kurly, is featured in the YouTube content 'Sophie’s Kick'. /Courtesy of YouTube capture

On the 21st, marking the 10th anniversary of its service launch, Kurly is conveying its brand identity through various campaigns. While it initially emphasized specially delivery services, it now focuses on informing about the quality of its products.

First, founder and CEO Kim Seul-ah will personally present Kurly's representative products in a weekly series called "Sophie’s Kick." The series will introduce recommended items such as tteokbokki and meal kits, along with tips on choosing breads that suit individual preferences. Through this, Kurly aims to highlight its brand motto of "good products" and its curation capabilities.

A campaign advertisement featuring singer Lee Hyori, her husband Lee Sang-soon, and AKMU's Lee Chan-hyuk was also launched. The ad carries the slogan "Fill your short life with good things," conveying the message that various food ingredients can be easily purchased through Kurly.

A Kurly official reported, "Our goal is to unfold the fundamental identity of 'good products' that we have continuously pursued since the service launch, both vertically and horizontally."

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