SmartStudy posts 105.5 billion won in 2019 revenue

SmartStudy announced on the 24th that its total revenue for 2019 rose 164% year over year to KRW 105.5 billion, with operating profit of KRW 34.7 billion. The company’s headquarters generated revenue of KRW 76 billion and operating profit of KRW 31 billion, for an operating margin of 41%.

SmartStudy’s overseas business drove the results. Overseas revenue in 2019 totaled KRW 80.8 billion, accounting for 80% of the company’s total. Headquarters’ overseas revenue was KRW 52 billion. SmartStudy said its strong 2019 performance was driven by its success in targeting the global children’s market beyond Korea.

Expansion in the U.S. market was a key growth driver. In 2019, North America accounted for about 50% of total revenue, generating more than twice as much as Korea. Last year, SmartStudy signed licensing agreements in North America with major licensees including Hasbro, Spin Master, Crayola, Crocs, Kellogg’s and WowWee. It secured four times as many licensees as in 2018 and launched 250 licensed products, up 31-fold from the previous year.

In August 2019, the “Pinkfong Baby Shark Sound Doll” topped Amazon’s Toys & Games category. “Pinkfong Baby Shark Cereal” became the top-selling cereal at Walmart in the U.S., while boys’ T-shirts at department store chain Kohl’s ranked No. 1 in sales. Licensed products also made Walmart’s top three in kids’ bedding. Products launched by the company have been well received across North America.

On February 21, Pinkfong Baby Shark became the first Korean IP to win the “License of the Year” and “Plush Toy of the Year” awards at the Toy of the Year Awards (TOTY), known as the Oscars of the toy industry.

“We achieved meaningful results in North America, the heart of the character market, and surpassed KRW 100 billion in revenue just 10 years after the company was founded,” said Kim Min-seok, CEO of SmartStudy. “We expect our results in global markets to improve further starting in 2020, beginning with the Baby Shark TV animation. We will continue to expand our influence in overseas markets, building on popular SmartStudy IP such as Pinkfong and Baby Shark.”

SmartStudy plans to co-produce and distribute a Pinkfong Baby Shark animated series with Nickelodeon, a global kids’ entertainment channel. The partnership and series have drawn considerable attention, with U.S. comedian James Corden even commenting on the project on CBS This Morning, a flagship program on CBS News.