Korea's top online pet shop Pet Friends eye profit as sales and GMV grow 50%

South Korea’s No. 1 online shopping platform for pet supplies Pet Friends is cementing its lead in the market after it succeeded in drawing massive investment last year that went to recruit talents and develop advanced curation technology.

Pet Friends said Tuesday its revenue jumped to 39.1 billion won ($28.2 million) for the first half of this year, gaining 49 percent from a year-ago period. Last year’s revenue nearly doubled to 61 billion won from a year ago, the largest among all platforms for pet supplies in Korea.

Purchases on its shopping mall are growing fast as well. Its gross merchandises value (GMV) expanded 47 percent on year to total 46.5 billion won in the first half, raising expectations that this year’s GMV would hit 116 billion won after adding 60 percent on year.

Downloads of Pet Friends app topped 1.9 million last month. Monthly active users averaged 290,000, the biggest among pet item platforms in Korea, according to bid data analysis solution provider Mobile Index.

Expansion gained momentum through massive investment it drew from a private equity fund and a big company. IMM Private Equity acquired a 65.9 percent stake in Pet Friends in July last year, and GS Retail took over a 30 percent stake.

Pet Friends used the proceeds to recruit experts in the e-commerce sector. Its new CEO Yoon Hyun-shin has an expertise in online platform business based on his career with Johnson & Johnson and Coupang. Chief Technology Officer Nam Kyung-sik was scouted from the country’s No. 2 delivery app Yogiyo, and Chief Strategy Officer Kim Jun-ho worked as an analyst at JP Morgan.

The pet supply platform saw improvements in profitability, a rare feat in the e-commerce industry. Thanks to rising regular customers and enhanced logistics efficiency, the company expects it would soon swing to an operating profit at current pace.

To solidify its leadership in the market, Pet Friends plans to strengthen its customized service based on data of 800 million customer behaviors and 800,000 pets, such as recommendation of pet snacks and foods.

It also has developed various own label products while expanding its business scope to offer pet-friendly vacation service, pet sitter matching service and pet insurance policies.

“With the market No. 1 position, Pet Friends will take a leap forward to become an integrated pet service platform encompassing all lifestyles,” said Yoon, CEO of Pet Friends.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]