[PangyoTechnoValley] Kakao Japan's Piccoma Records #1 Sales in Comic-fiction Apps Worldwide

    LOS ANGELES, CA, November 30, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ --

- 3Q transaction amount 130 billion won, up 247% QoQ and up 168% YoY
- Fourth place in sales among all apps including games in Japan, proving the potential of the Japanese digital comics market
- 3Q transaction amount of webtoon 58 billion, up 680% YoY, to exceed 150 billion annually in total

(Photo : Piccoma's quarterly transaction growth graph)

(Photo : Quarterly transaction amount growth graph of webtoon contents in Piccoma)

(Photo : Piccoma ranking fourth in sales in the two major app markets in Japan and seventh in non-games in the global app market)

[2020-11-09] Kakao's comic book app Piccoma ranked number one in monthly sales in September among all comic and novel apps worldwide.

Based on the monthly report of September by the global app research company App Annie, Kakao Japan (CEO Kim Jae-yong) announced that Piccoma was ranked first in sales of comic and fiction apps and seventh in sales of non-games apps from the two app markets (Apple AppStore and Google Play). This is the achievements made after four years of entering the Japanese market. With this, Kakao Japan is solidifying its position as a major comic platform in the global market as well as in Japan.

Piccoma's transaction amount of 3Q of this year is 130 billion won, up 247% QoQ, and the annual accumulated transaction is 270 billion, up 168% YoY, showing the quantum jump growth.

Thanks to a such big advancement in Japan, the largest comic market in the world. Japan's comic book market is about 5.7 trillion won, which is four to five times larger than the US and China, second and third places, respectively. In addition, the digital comics market accounts for only half of the total market, and webtoon content growing explosively because it is suitable for mobile, is still being serviced by only a few companies such as Piccoma.

Piccoma was ranked number one in non-game app sales for the first time in Japan in July and stayed in the first place until September. It ranked fourth in all app sales including games. It is very rare for non-game content apps to record more than game apps, and this can be seen as an indicator of the potential of the Japanese digital comics market.

The growth of webtoons is driving Piccoma's earnings. Transactions from webtoons in Piccoma in 3Q increased 70.1% compared to 2Q, and increased 680% compared to last year. 3Q transaction from webtoons alone was 58 billion, expecting to exceed the annual sales of 150 billion won this year. This shows the trend that Japanese comic book readers are getting accustomed to the webtoon viewing environment, read vertically and continued by episodes instead of the conventional single book/series book units. Especially from 3Q, the transaction amount of Chinese webtoons increased 87.6% QoQ, hinting the possibility of becoming a global content distribution platform.

Kakao Japan CEO Kim Jae-yong said, "Our strategy of targeting snack culture smartphone contents user from the beginning of the service resulted in the recent soar of use. Starting from Japan, the world's largest comic market, we are going to develop into the major global comic platform."

Kakao is a mobile life platform company that provides innovative services in the global mobile and Internet markets based on specialized manpower, technology, content and competitive mobile traffic. Under the vision of "a better world created by technology and people," it strives to connect everything that surrounds our daily lives and allow anyone to experience innovation daily. Kakao's headquarters are located in Jeju, and the integrated office in the metropolitan area is located in Pangyo, with about 2,300 employees working. Daum Communication, founded in 1995, and Kakao, founded in 2006, merged and launched as Daum Kakao on October 1, 2014, and changed the company name to Kakao on September 23, 2015 to become the company representing the mobile era.

Kakao is a mobile life platform company that provides innovative services in the global mobile and Internet markets based on specialized manpower, technology, content and competitive mobile traffic. Under the vision of "a better world created by technology and people," it strives to connect everything that surrounds our daily lives and allow anyone to experience innovation daily. Kakao's headquarters are located in Jeju, and the integrated office in the metropolitan area is located in Pangyo, with about 2,300 employees working. Daum Communication, founded in 1995, and Kakao, founded in 2006, merged and launched as Daum Kakao on October 1, 2014, and changed the company name to Kakao on September 23, 2015 to become the company representing the mobile era.

Piccoma is operated by Kakao Japan, a Japanese corporate of Kakao. It is a mobile comic and novel service that allows readers to get access to one free episode for all popular comics, novels, and original works that are hot. Since its launch on April 20, 2016, Piccoma app has surpassed 23 million downloads. Since there are no ads in the service, users can focus on comics.

[Photo description]
- Piccoma ranking fourth in sales in the two major app markets in Japan and seventh in non-games in the global app market
- Piccoma's quarterly transaction growth graph
- Quarterly transaction amount growth graph of webtoon contents in Piccoma

"Is it the Kakao style?"
Kakao krew is often challenging themselves. Our view, behavior, and vision have already been imbued with the Kakao style, a naturally mastered and embodied essence to create a better world. We will never stop starting from basics and pondering our next move. That is Kakao's style.

# # #