Poshmark Acquired by Naver in Good Exit - What Will Happen to the Others?

Yesterday, Korean Internet search giant Naver acquires the second-hand clothing site Poshmark. If you're wondering who Naver is, it's one of the only companies that has managed to hold off Google globally, as they own more than 50% of the Korean search market and have many other properties.

The price was $1.2B, and Poshmark stock popped on the news. It was an all-cash deal and at a premium to Poshmark's current stock price -- making it extremely hard to ignore in a declining economy.

It's not lost on me how far afield Poshmark had to go for this exit -- to Korea.

The press release mentioned that the social aspect of Poshmark's experience was the most valued. Naver will add its experience in search, AI, and recommendations to scale the platform further.

Looks like Poshmark will continue to operate globally, and likely Naver will use this as a wedge into the global market -- whereas they are focused on East Asia today.

What about the rest of the social shopping fashion marketplaces like Rent the Runway and TheRealReal? I expect continued financial troubles there. TheRealReal has a new CEO who is likely trying to find a buyer, whereas Rent the Runway may be determined to stay independent.... for both players I expect pain in the business for the next year.