South Korean mobile retail giant SK planet Co., Ltd. (SKP) has announced plans to acquire shopkick, Inc., the popular US-based shopping app. Touted as a major win-win for both companies, the partnership will allow SKP to increase its global market share while endowing shopkick with the resources and assets that come with its affiliation considerable business affiliations.
The two companies specialize in services that stimulate “online-to-offline” commerce, a market thought to be worth $1.4 trillion in the United States, and the similarities of their visions appear to make them an excellent fit. Cyriac Roeding, shopkick’s CEO, certainly seems buoyant about the partnership. “When I first heard Jinwoo speak of SK planet’s vision,” he said, referring to Jinwoo So, SKP CEO, “it sounded like we were from the same company – that’s how closely our strategies are aligned.” Now, he says, “we can now drive SK planet’s international leadership forward in the U.S., and SK planet will help us achieve our global visions.”
Indeed, SKP is affiliated with a Fortune 100 corporation in SK Holdings, and SK Telecom, the largest mobile carrier in South Korea; and SKP itself processes $50 billion in transactions annually. For its part, shopkick has been rated by Forbes as one of America’s 100 Most Promising Companies in 2014, and is widely considered the dominant leader in the US mobile commerce industry. The two have much to offer each other.
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