Naver launches Japan-focused e-commerce platform

South Korea's top online portal Naver Corp. launched its e-commerce platform dedicated to Japan last month, taking its first step toward a global online commerce operator. 

The e-commerce platform SmartStore allows business owners in Japan to promote and sell their products. Naver is now looking to expand into Southeast Asia and Europe, including Spain, according to industry sources.

Earlier this year, the platform giant has gained a toehold in Spain through its €115 million ($134 million) acquisition of a stake in Wallapop, a Spanish online marketplace for used goods. Founded in 2013, Wallapop has quickly become one of the four largest shopping apps in Spain, with its users accounting for about half of the country’s population.

"Japan will be a stepping stone for our global expansion," Naver Chief Executive Han Seong-sook said during a third-quarter earnings conference on Oct. 21. She did not comment on its expansion into Spain.

In Japan, the online titan will introduce new services for the SmartStore platform in collaboration with its Japanese subsidiary LINE Corp., a popular messaging service operator, Naver said at the conference call.

Beyond Japan and Spain, Naver's next target region for e-commerce will be Southeast Asia, where it may team up with local platforms, the sources said. Naver has invested in Southeast Asia-based e-commerce startups, including Singapore's Carousell, Indonesia's Bukalapak and Malaysia's iPrice.

In the domestic market, Naver is making collaborative efforts with the country's retail giant Shinsegae Group to offer grocery shopping service on its platform, Naver Shopping, from the fourth quarter of this year. 

WEBTOONS, WEB NOVELS

Naver delivered its strongest-ever quarterly results in the July-September period, powered by a 60% growth year on year in the content business. Its series of acquisitions and business tie-ups with global content providers paid off.

In January of this year, the Korean portal signed a 660 billion won ($562 million) deal to acquire a 100% stake in Wattpad, the world's largest web novel platform based in Toronto.

"Following the launch of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios last July, we will speed up our IP-based content projects," Naver Chief Financial Officer Park Sang-jin said during the earnings call. "We have already more than 100 projects in development or production."

Wattpad WEBTOON Studios is the combined entity of Wattpad and Webtoon, Naver's digital comics platform.

The number of monthly active users of Naver's webtoon services recorded its historic high in North America, surpassing 14 million. Its global transaction value topped 100 billion won per month.

In July, Naver released its first episode of the webtoon version of Marvel Studio's spy thriller Black Widow. It marked the first time that an original Marvel comic was made into a webtoon, kicking off the Marvel Webtoon Project.

Starting in September, Naver published webtoons based on Marvel Studio's other intellectual property portfolio, including Eternals, Avengers, Spider-Man and Hulk.

It also joined hands with DC Comics Inc. in the third quarter to beef up its storytelling content.

At home, Naver is working on adapting its webtoons and web novels into TV series in cooperation with CJ Group, CFO Park said. They will be released on CJ ENM's over-the-top streaming platform TVing Co..

Q3 RESULTS AT RECORD

Naver's third-quarter operating profit increased 20% year on year to 349.8 billion won on a consolidated basis. Net profit expanded by 37.1% to 322.7 billion won in the three months to September, with revenue up 27% on-year to 1.7 trillion won, unchanged from the second quarter.

By comparison, Naver's second-quarter operating profit came to 335.6 billion won, up 8.9% from the year-earlier period.

Business division	Q3 revenue (year on year)	Q2 revenue (year on year)
Content	184.1 billion won (up 60.2%)	144.8 billion won (up 28.2%)
E-commerce	380.3 billion won (up 33.2%)	365.3 billion won (up 42.6%)
Fintech	241.7 billion won (up 38.9%)	232.6 billion won (up 41.2%)

(Amended on Oct. 25 as the company said its plan to enter Spain's e-commerce market has not been finalized yet.)

Write to Min-ki Koo at kook@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.