Kurly Corp., operator of South Korea’s fresh food delivery platform Market Kurly going public in the second quarter, anticipates to achieve 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) milestone in gross merchandise value (GMV) this year after passing 2 trillion won threshold last year.

According to multiple sources from the retail industry on Tuesday, Market Kurly Founder and CEO Kim Seul-ah, or Sophie Kim, in a meeting with employees last week set this year’s GMV target at over 3 trillion won.

Market Kurly, an industry pioneer in next-day fresh food delivery, raised more than 2 trillion won in GMW last year on robust demand in a Covid-19 environment.

Market Kurly, since its inception, has kept up an average annual sales growth of more than 100 percent, said an unnamed company official. The app has more than 10 million users as of end of last year, with 75 percent of first-time users returning for shopping.

In October last year, Market Kurly picked NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, and JP Morgan as co-lead managers for its IPO. The company plans to apply for preliminary review with the Korea Exchange this month for market debut before July.

Kurly raised 250 billion won in pre-IPO investment from Hong Kong-based Anchor Equity Partners, which gave the company valuation of 4 trillion won.

Market Kurly offers overnight fresh food delivery services in Seoul and surrounding areas, Chungcheong Provinces, Daegu, Busan, and Ulsan, through its four fulfillment centers in Gimpo, Jangji, Hwado, and Jukjeon. It plans to add another distribution center later this year.

Kurly plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to expand next-day door-to-door delivery service nationwide.

Competition has heated in Korea’s fresh food delivery market with Coupang expanding Rocket Fresh delivery and SSG.com under Emart launching its own fast delivery while readying for IPO this year.

By Pulse

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