The competition among the information technology (IT) giants who were battling for the position of ‘Korea’s third largest market cap’ seems to have solidified with the retake of Kakao. Recently, shareholders of Kakao are paying attention to the listing of Kakao subsidiaries that are scheduled for one after the other. It is because they do not know how their listing will affect Kakao's corporate value.
Kakao Bank and Kakao Pay, Kakao's financial subsidiaries, will go public in August. Kakao Games, a game subsidiary, also rose to third place in the KOSDAQ market thanks to the popularity of the new game 'Odin: Valhalla Rising'. It is also observed that the successive activities of subsidiaries will have a positive effect on Kakao's share price.
In addition to subsidiaries already established in the market, such as finance, mobility, and entertainment, Kakao has many subsidiaries and subsidiaries with high growth potential. They are responsible for maintaining Kakao's corporate value in the future.
The core of Kakao's blockchain business,
‘Ground X’ is a subsidiary of ‘Kakao G’, a subsidiary of Kakao that leads the blockchain business. ‘Metaverse’ and ‘blockchain’ are recently selected as new technologies that will lead the future. It is said that its rival, Naver, is one step ahead of the metaverse through its grand-subsidiary, ZEPETO. On the other hand, Kakao is expanding its influence in the blockchain business. Ground X stands at the center of this role.
Kakao defines blockchain as a core technology of the future and predicts that blockchain will become the basis of the next ecosystem through Ground X. Founded in 2018, Ground X officially launched the mainnet of the blockchain platform ‘Klaytn’ in 2019 the following year. Through this, we secure strategic partners and build the Klaytn ecosystem through the launch of a planned B app that we produce ourselves. Korean companies such as LG Electronics and GS Home Shopping and foreign companies are joining the Klaytn Governance Council, which co-operates Klaytn, but Shinhan Bank has recently joined, which is unusual in the financial sector. The Klaytn Governance Council is in charge of making major decisions about Klaytn's technology and business and operating consensus nodes.
Ground X announced on June 24 that the so called 'Kakao Coin' will be listed on Binance, the world's largest exchange. Clay is a cryptocurrency issued by Kakao Singapore special purpose corporation, Klaytn, and serves as the key currency in the Kakao blockchain service. Ground X announced that it will be listed on Binance, the world's largest exchange, to expand the global ecosystem and strengthen accessibility. The listing has expanded the way multinational developers and service companies can acquire clay.
He also entered the art market. Ground X announced that it will launch ‘Click Drops’ in July, displaying and distributing various digital works such as artworks and goods in Clip, a virtual asset wallet. The art works of Korean artists are recorded on Klaytn, a public blockchain platform of Ground X, and digitalized, then exhibited and distributed at Clip Drops. As Clip Drops can be easily accessed through KakaoTalk, it is easy to induce purchases, and by linking integrated exhibitions and participation activities, Ground X explains that it can enhance users' understanding of works.
Kakao Style to become a fashion platform 'absolute force'
As social distancing continues to expand, the fashion industry is being reorganized to focus on online shopping. As Kakao jumped into this, competition in the online fashion platform market intensified.
Kakao acquired ZigZag, a shopping application (app) in April. ZigZag, launched in 2015, is a fashion platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide personalized recommendations based on preferred shopping malls, products of interest, and purchase history. It has secured a large number of loyal customers in their 1030s and is ranked No. 1 in terms of transaction value among women's fashion platforms, with an annual turnover of 1 trillion won in 2021.
With the acquisition of ZigZag, Kakao, which quickly emerged as a strong force in the fashion platform market, completed the merger procedure of the style business division, which was split from Kakao Commerce and Croki.com, which operates the shopping app “ZigZag”. From July 1st, she has been taking over the fashion market with her new name 'kakao Style'.
Kakao Style, which has been incorporated into the Kakao community, has secured 100 billion won in funds from Kakao and is ready to aggressively expand its business. The plan is to spur the market with a global style commerce platform by creating synergies with Kakao's technology, platform, and various business fields.
The CEO of Kakao Style will be Seo Jung hoon, who led Croki.com. It will expand its business capabilities that have led innovation in the industry, such as making ‘Zig Zag’ into Korea’s representative fashion platform with an annual turnover of 1 trillion won, to all areas of style including beauty and living. It plans to lead the global business as well as the advancement of Korean service that recommends personalized styles to anyone, regardless of age or gender. ZigZag continues the service name and the fashion curation service 'Kakao Style' changes its service name to 'Fashion by Kakao'. “Kakao Style will become a company that creates a style commerce ecosystem based on personalization and relationships and leads the growth of the industry,” said CEO Seo Jeong hoon.
Entering the golf market, Kakao VX
Kakao VX is a subsidiary of Kakao Games. It is developing various businesses that combine sports and IT, such as golf related businesses such as screen golf, sales of golf equipment, golf reservation platform, and consignment operation of golf courses, and AI-based home training. The key among them is to develop and sell golf simulator equipment and software, and to operate it under a consignment contract with a golf course. In 2019, it launched the ‘Kakao Golf Reservation’ app, a golf reservation platform using the Kakao Talk platform.
Kakao VX is classified as a 'net subsidiary' of Kakao Games. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, more and more people are playing golf, which can be enjoyed outdoors on a small scale. In particular, unlike the past, which was considered a sport for middle-aged and older people, the number of people in their 20s and 30s who play golf as a hobby has increased. Accordingly, the potential of Kakao VX is increasingly being evaluated.
