Korean App Market “ONE store” Announces Its Entry Into the Global Market This Year.
- The second-largest app market in Korea has outperformed global competitors in the Korean market.
- It plans to expand its reach in the industry through strategic partnerships with leading global behemoths, such as Blizzard and Microsoft.
- “2022 will be the year of our successful IPO, and the beginning of ONE store’s global business expansion,” says CEO Lee Jae-hwan.
SEOUL, South Korea – ONE store (http://www.onestorecorp.com), Korea’s second-largest app market outperforming global competitors, will be expanding into Asia and Europe markets. ONE store stated it is actively developing its global platform and will launch within this year.
ONE store was established in 2016. Since Q3 of 2018, ONE store has revolutionized the industry with its groundbreaking decision to slash app market fees from the standard 30% down to 20%. According to MOBILEINDEX, a mobile big data analysis platform, ONE store’s domestic app market share in 2021 was 13.8%, which ranked second and exceeds that of Apple app store (11.6%).
The company has shown tremendous growth since its app market fee reduction in 2018. In 2020, it turned a profit and recorded 38.3% growth, which is 3.5 times higher than that of the global app market by the first half of 2021. In Q3 of 2021, the total transaction volume grew 27.8% year-over-year, recording 13 consecutive quarters of transaction volume growth.
Developers have widely acknowledged the value of ONE store, which has contributed to its rapid growth. The transaction volume in Q3 of 2021 grew 3.3 times that of Q2 in 2018, which was before the reduced commission fee launch. By leveraging multi-homing, ONE store was able to expand its user base and the sales volume of developers. According to 2019 research conducted by ONE store, developers had increased their earnings by 27%, and their sales by 20% since joining ONE store.
Piggybacking off its Korean market success, ONE store will now go global. With a favorable commission structure for developers, wide-ranging benefits for users, and appealing Korean content that captures the world’s attention, ONE store will expand internationally by adopting its successful domestic market strategy for the global market.
Along with its plan to enter the global market, ONE store has announced cross-platform services and content businesses as its key future revenue streams. In August 2021, the company unveiled its corporate vision as a “Global multi-OS content platform” to globally connect various services, devices, OS (operating systems) and business areas.
In line with this vision, ONE store has announced partnerships with a number of global companies, such as Blizzard, Microsoft and Tencent. It has also executed its business strategies, such as the introduction of the beta service “ONE GameLoop,” a cross-platform that allows users to enjoy the same game experience on both mobile and PC, which was co-launched with Tencent.
In June 2021, ONE store received investments from Microsoft and “Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners” (DTCP), an investment company of Deutsche Telekom. The combined investment made by both partners was 16.8 billion KRW (about 15 million USD). The investment by global companies came three months after attracting investments from leaders in the Korean telecommunications market, KT and LGU+. Securing successful investments validates ONE store’s scalability and potential in the app market business, and leveraging its positive feedback in the industry, ONE store is gearing up to get listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI).
“2022 will be the year we start establishing a bridgehead for global expansion,” says Lee Jae-Hwan, CEO of ONE store. “As we also prepare to be listed on the KOSPI this year, we also have an eye on going beyond the Korean market to also secure competitive share in the global market.”
SOURCE ONE store