이 기사는 2020년 02월 27일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s online grocery store Market Kurly is putting its efforts into enhancing its communication with shareholders amid fiercer competition in the nation’s grocery delivery industry.

Market Kurly, which pioneered and is leading the dawn delivery market since 2015, recorded 157 billion won in sales in 2018. Its sales has grown by 52 times in just four years.

Due to huge amount of investment for its dramatic growth, the company’s operating loss has increased every year, from 5.4 billion in 2015 to 8.8 billion won in 2016, 12.4 billion won in 2017 and 33.7 billion won in 2018. The trend is likely to have continued last year as well. According to industry sources, Market Kurly posted sales of 430 billion won and an operating loss of 91 billion won in 2019, up 173 percent and 170 percent respectively compared to the previous year.

In the meanwhile, institutional investors have seemingly sought to sell their stake in the online grocery store since the second half of last year. This is because the strength of Market Kurly has weakened due to mounting competition from e-commerce companies and traditional retailers that have been rushing to roll out dawn delivery services.

Coupang rolled out its dawn delivery service in 2018 and SSG.com, the online shopping mall of Shinsegae Group followed suit. Home shopping companies, including GS and CJ also joined the dawn delivery fresh food delivery race. Against this backdrop, the company seeks to attract additional money to maintain its competitiveness and position in the industry.

Retail giants’ entrance to the market has had an impact on the Market Kurly’s valuation. The online grocery store raised funds from China-based financial investors including Sequoia Capital China and Hillhouse Capital mid-2019 at a valuation of mid-5oo billion won. Six months later, many shareholders tried to sell the company’s shares on the over the counter (OTC) market at 20 thousand won level per share. This makes Market Kury’s valuation drop to mid-to-high 400 billion won.

If such movement continues, Market Kurly is expected to face difficulties in proceeding with its plan to raise additional funds. Accordingly, the company has moved its Investor Relations (IR) official to its finance team so that the company can improve its communication with investors and attract new investments.

“Markey Kurly is putting efforts into carrying out its shareholder friendly policy to keep investors from selling its shares,” said an industry insider.

“Our finance team has been responsible for responding to requests for information disclosure. We moved our IR professional to the finance team for more nimble and professional response. We expect this will facilitate smooth communication with shareholder,” said a Market Kurly official.

(By reporter Kim Seon-ho)