After withdrawing its bid for eBay’s Korean subsidiary last year, Naver announced today it’s acquiring shopping site Poshmark for $1.2 billion. Poshmark will become a standalone US subsidiary of Naver, continuing to operate under the Poshmark brand.
Naver’s CEO Choi Soo-Yeon said his company’s search technology and AI recommendation and ecommerce tools would “help power the next phase of Poshmark’s global growth.”
The acquisition may also help propel Poshmark’s entree into live shopping after it announced Posh Shows last month. In Monday’s press release announcing the acquisition, it mentioned a goal of becoming a leader in livestreaming commerce:
“The combination accelerates Naver’s strategy to build a global e-commerce community portfolio to capture the growth in large markets around the world, including Poshmark’s home market of North America. Together, the companies expect to increase purchase conversion rates, deepen user engagement, create an industry leader in livestreaming commerce, and enhance the unique relationship- and discovery-based experiences that are driving fast-growing re-commerce verticals.”
The companies revealed the following stats about Poshmark:
- Poshmark currently has a community of over 80 million registered users, across 90% of zip codes in the U.S.
- In 2021, the company generated approximately $2 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) with a take rate of 20% and gross margin of 85%.
- Its primary demographic of millennials and Generation Z users is the largest shopping demographic for secondhand goods and a key driver of the circular economy and community-based platforms.
It appears shoppers may see more ads on Poshmark, which plans to leverage Naver’s advertising capabilities to drive further monetization.
Manish Chandra will remain CEO and Poshmark will keep its current management team which will continue to operate out of its headquarters in Redwood City, California. More details are available in the press release on Businesswire.com.
